In Which Hermione Granger Becomes Lethal
by ladyofnite
Summary: Summer after Fifth Year. Hermione's family is murdered and she is out for revenge. In order to help calm her, Albus appoints Severus as her Guardian. Unfortunately, Snape has no intentions of reigning the girl in. Severus-Mentors-Hermione fic, AU, OOC
1. In Which Revenge Is Vowed

Part One: The Makings of Evil

It was with great surprise that the staff of Hogwarts found themselves in a rather awkward position. Usually, between the unstoppable Dumbledore and the oh-so-sensible McGonagall they were covered in all situations. But now…

What exactly is a group of mature witches and wizards suppose to do when confronted with such an obstacle. A young lady has just lost her family. Devastating, tragic, and a situation that calls for comfort.

Except she wasn't grieving. She was refusing treatment for her wounds and had tried to sneak out of the Hospital Wing for the fourth time in the last hour.

"Ms. Granger!" Gryffindor Head of House Minerva McGonagall was at her wits' end. "I swear to Merlin, if you get off that bed once more I shall hex you to it."

"But Professor, I can't be here. Students aren't allowed in Hogwarts over the summer." Even while raging with anger, Hermione Granger was the consummate know-it-all. "Besides, I'm not even hurt. These are all just scrapes. So if you'll just let me go and give me back my wand, I can go track those bastards-"

"Ms. Granger, I believe that qualifies as a bit more than just scrapes." Madame Pomfrey looked outraged at the mere suggestion, ignoring the foul language if favour of the girl's grief. "You are injured, child, and I am going to heal you whether you like it or not."

"I don't." The girl informed the woman, folding her arms over her chest. Both arms were liberally covered in bruises and cuts, as well as dried blood. She had a black eye and a rather alarming cut that was still bleeding at her temple. One ankle had also been twisted, and two ribs had been broken. Except for the ribs, which Poppy had done while the girl was still unconscious, Hermione had so far refused treatment.

Filius Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw and usually one of Hermione's favorite professors, tried to step in. "Ms. Granger, surely you must see that we have a responsibility to heal you. You have been hurt, my girl, and have suffered a terrible loss."

"It's not your responsibility at the moment." She disagreed. "It's my own. I can take care of myself. I'll get my revenge, that'll take care of my _terrible loss_. When I kill Bellatrix Lestrange and scalp Lucius Malfoy, then it can be your responsibility. Until then, it's mine."

"Ms. Granger, you must not let grief consume you." Even the Hufflepuff Head of House, the loving Pomona Sprout, tried to talk some sense into the girl.

"So I should just let them get away with it?" Granger asked, glaring at the kind-hearted woman as if she had betrayed her. "I killed Macnair and I injured the Lestrange brothers, but the two main ones got away. I'm not going to let them. I'll-"

With a sigh, Minerva put her wand away, after shooting a Sleeping Spell at the girl. She was so exhausted she collapsed immediately. Poppy caught the girl, gently lowering her to the bed.

Yes, indeed, the Hogwarts staff was at a loss. Rarely did anyone who suffered such a loss feel such vengeance, especially if they were calm, sedate Gryffindor bookworms. The three Heads hadn't known the girl had such a vicious streak. As Dumbledore was gone, taking his rare week vacation to go fishing with his brother, there was only one person who could possibly control the girl.

The three Heads eyed each other, searching for any weakness. Filius saw Pomona look speculatively between himself and Minerva and knew he had to act fast. "Well, Pomona, the girl is a Gryffindor."

Minerva couldn't hold back a groan as Pomona immediately turned traitor.

"That's true, Minnie." The woman said. "She's one of your Cubs, it's your duty to protect her."

Curse Filius for bringing duty into this. Of course the 'Puff would agree with that. "Fine." She said, drawing herself up. "But if I'm not back by dinnertime, I expect the two of you to come and search the bat's cave for my body."

Severus Snape didn't like people. At all. None of them. Which is why he was at peace- or as close as he could get- during the summer. Dumbledore was too busy to bother him, the Dark Lord thought he was busy brewing Infirmary potions or searching rare ingredients he couldn't go hunting for during the school year, and all of the students who could possibly bother him were gone.

So when Minerva came storming into his private lab without so much as knocking, he was a bit upset.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing, you miserable old cat! I've been brewing that for two weeks!"

He had been working on a variant of the Polyjuice Potion, trying to get it to last longer. He had been forced to wait six days for the helmsweed to properly simmer and, just as he had been about to add the appropriate hellebore, the door slamming into the wall had broken his concentration and he hadn't poured the ingredient in quickly enough. The brew had immediately turned black as night, when it should have become a reddish-orange. Damn.

"Oh, get over your little potions, Severus." Not only had she ruined a very, very expensive potion, the woman didn't even care! "We have more important things to do. I need your help."

"No." Severus said flatly, waving his wand to instantly clean his cauldron and beginning his potion anew.

"Severus, you have to help us." She said. "We don't know what else to do."

"It's summer." He said, carefully chopping the juniper beans that would start his potion again. "I'm off the clock. I don't have to help you until September 1st. And even then, it's only if I can't get out of it."

He put the cauldron over his open flame and began chopping the odd grey mushrooms in front of him. Minerva didn't know what he was making and didn't really care, so she had no qualms dousing the flame.

"Damn you, Minerva." Severus moaned, mentally calculating how much she had already cost him. These ingredients were not cheap! "Will you go away?"

"Not until you agree to help me." She said, holding her wand at the ready.

Severus moaned. "Fine, fine. What are you three unable to do now? And how long is it going to take?"

Her face softened, ever so slightly, now that he agreed. "Severus, were you summoned last night?"

"No." He said, straightening abruptly. This wasn't some stupid errand they just didn't want to run then. There was an actual problem. "Why?"

"There was an attack last night, on a Muggle-born's family." She said softly.

He closed his eyes, letting the guilt crush him. There was another one he had failed. Add that to the ever-growing list of his sins. "Which one?"

"Hermione Granger."

As if it couldn't get worse. The female member of the Golden Trio. Merlin help them. "Is she hurt? Do you need me to make her a potion?" He asked.

"Actually," Minerva couldn't hold back a smug grin now that she was away from the others. She and Severus actually got along decently enough because of her more…feline appreciations of the devious and the cunning. "She's vowing revenge. She put up quite a fight, actually managed to kill Macnair and wound the two Lestrange brothers enough that they were captured. She wants to hunt down Bellatrix and Lucius."

Severus snorted at that. "I always said she could have been a Slytherin. If that's not ambition, I don't know what is."

"Quite." She agreed. "But the girl is injured and is refusing treatment; she demands we let her leave at the moment. None of us can contain her Severus, we need you to."

"She can't stay here, Minerva." Severus said. "It is against the rules, as I'm sure she has informed you several times. The wards need students gone to rebuild."

"As I well know, young man." She said, looking down her nose at him. "I have not suggested otherwise. Unfortunately, of the six of us still here, including Hagrid and Sybill, I'm afraid you are the only one who owns a house."

The Slytherin's eyes grew wide and he backed away. "Oh no. Albus will be back in the next week or so. She can stay here until then." He said. "I am not taking her to Prince Manor."

"You are taking her to Prince Manor." His former teacher had no problem pulling rank. Or a little bit of harmless blackmail. "She was only brought here because of her wounds, as they didn't want Harry Potter's best friend at St. Mungo's. When she is healed, the Ministry will be taking her to an orphanage. Do you really want one of Voldemort's minions to report when she enters the system?"

She would be adopted immediately and taken right to Voldemort. Damn. "Minerva, I don't know anything about fifteen year old girls!" He exclaimed. "What am I supposed to do with her? Surely someone else. The Weasley's."

"You are the only one who knows what it is like to have vengeance riding through your veins." She said. "The girl is vowing revenge on them, she is eventually going to escape us here as she knows so many of the school's secrets. Do you really think the Weasley's would stop her?" Minerva asked.

Well, obviously not. Gryffindor incompetence strikes again, he thought sourly.

"You do you little experiments at home just as well as here, could you not?" She asked, already knowing the answer. "Good," she went on, ignoring his scowl. "Then I shall see you in the Hospital Wing within the hour. You only have to avoid letting her leave the Manor for a week, until Albus can get everything officially squared away."

"Yes, and until then I have kidnapped Harry Potter's best friend." He added, rolling his eyes.

"We won't tell if you won't." Minerva said, winking. "She is in rather bad shape. We ought to be able to hold the Ministry off that long. Albus will fix everything."

He raised an eyebrow, showing his skepticism in volumes.

"Oh don't give me that look." She said, huffing. "Get packed. You leave tonight."

"Yes ma'am." He growled, turning and stalking away.


	2. In Which Snape Becomes Involved

Chapter Two: Severus Begins Plotting

Just to spite Minerva, Severus deliberately waited an extra ten minutes before appearing in the Hospital Wing. Filius and Pomona had retreated back to the relative safety of their quarters, leaving him only to face Poppy and Minerva, the latter of whom was glaring at him.

Poppy, as usual, was fussing over her patient. The girl was conscious, sporting a black eye and glare and several bandages.

"Leave me alone!" The girl exclaimed just as he walked in.

"Now Ms. Granger, I have to make sure your wounds have properly healed. It wouldn't do to have you leave only for you to be brought back because the wounds reopened." The nurse said forcefully, waving her wand in complicated patterns around the girl.

"Ah, Severus, _there you are_." Minerva greeted him, drawing the attention of the other two. Oh, he thought with amusement, Tabby is not a happy kitty.

"Professor Snape?" The know-it-all, instead of looking frightened and disgusted as she should have been, looked thrilled to see her Potions Professor. "You're taking me?"

"Indeed, Ms. Granger, I have been sentenced to your presence." He said, gesturing vaguely. "Why else would I be here. Do not worry; you shall only have to suffer me for a week."

She hopped up, almost eagerly, and hurried to his side. "Great, sounds great, let's go." She said.

"Hold it." Poppy blocked them before either could turn. "Severus, you are to make sure she rests for the next day or so. Watch those wounds carefully and if you have any problems you Floo me immediately. We will bring her back if we must."

"Yes Madame." He said, surprised when he heard the Gryffindor girl beside him mutter rebelliously, "Oh, don't worry, I definitely won't be coming back."

Really? He pondered. What on earth could have upset the bookworm so? He had expected she would be angry, but nearly so much. He didn't see any tears at all, which he thought much more likely of the relatively quiet child.

"I do know my way around an infirmary," Severus said, shaking his thoughts away. He had a week to find his answers, after all. "Send Albus through to my Manor as soon as he is back. Until then," he added, turning. "Let us go, Ms. Granger."

They quickly flooed through to a rather large office, set up in various shades of blue. "Welcome, Ms. Granger, to Snape Manor." Severus said, watching her as she took a minute to look around. "Sit." He added, when her eyes came to rest on a replica of his desk from his office back at school. He took a seat behind the desk as she sat on the chair before it. "I would like you to attempt to explain to me what just happened." He said, gesturing to her to begin.

"Professor, this is not necessary." Severus found himself surprised by her opening gambit.

"What exactly do you mean, Ms. Granger?" He questioned. "How am to help you if you do not explain the situation to me?"

"That's exactly it, Professor." The small chit of a girl said happily. "I don't need your help. I tried to explain this to Professor McGonagall, but you know how she is. If you can just drop me off back in London, I will be out of your hair and you can go back to…er, enjoying your summer."

She stumbled over the last bit, unsure of what exactly to say, he saw with amusement. "I can assure you, Ms. Granger," he said casually, "Your presence in no way will detract from my summer fun. So, gather up that Gryffindor courage and explain why I was so rudely kicked out of Hogwarts."

"But Profess-"

"Ms. Granger, this has grown tiresome. I am forced to be in this manor for a week whether or not I release you and I have decided you will suffer here alongside me. Now you might as well tell me what's going on." He said, pounding the desk before him to stop any further protests.

She closed her mouth without the protest, but in no way looked frightened. She glared rebelliously for a moment and then gave a sigh. "Fine." She said. "I want you to release me so that I can go and hunt down Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange."

Usually this was where the other professors had stopped her. Snape didn't even seem surprised by the statement. He merely folded his arms and asked, "How exactly do you plan to do so?"

It took her a moment to realize that this _was_ Snape and why in Merlin's name would he try to stop her from doing something stupid? "Well, I've spent quite a bit of time in Diagon Alley this summer," she said. "At several of the used book stores, I've found some quite impressive books."

"Specifics, Ms. Granger." Severus said, suddenly interested. He himself had found many rare bargains and could only imagine what the inquisitive bookworm might have found. Merlin help them all if she came across a few of the more _interesting_ books that she could have come upon. "What did you find?"

"Well, I found a copy of Most Potente Potions, a first edition." She said, allowing a thrill of joy course her body for a moment. "That was the best find. But more importantly, I found a copy of an Auror training manual. There are various tracking spells I learned in there, more so than the Four Directions Spell, as well as an invisibility spell, so when I get expelled for using magic outside of school they won't be able to find me and snap my wand. Not til I'm finished, of course." She added, waving a hand. "But by then it won't matter."

Her tone, so determined, mixed with dead brown eyes actually gave the Slytherin pause. The girl wasn't displaying the disgusting Gryffindor tactics so common among her kind. She had crossed over, through the foolishness. She was serious.

Of course, he hurried to assure himself, she wasn't too far gone. She was still depressingly Gryffindorish—obviously determined to go out in a blaze of glory.

Had this girl ended up in Ravenclaw, she might have been one of the few Claws he ever appreciated. He refused to appreciate her as a Gryffin though, so it was a moot point.

"Ms. Granger, I would appeal to your smarter side, for just a moment." He said. "Though I live with the sad knowledge that it will soon be taken completely over by your obsessive need to memorize each and every book you read," he mocked, conveniently forgetting that he himself did the same thing. "I know you Gryffindors find Slytherin tactics distasteful as well as dishonourable, but they are often much more appropriate. In this case, should you truly wish revenge, your take-charge attitude will only end in your death. I would suggest you use this enforced week of rest to put that mind to figuring out some sane, rational plan that would make some Slytherin proud."

"Or, you could just let me go and perform my stupid Gryffindor attack." Hermione offered, ignoring his kind advice. "Come on Professor. Just a quick trip to London and then you won't ever have to deal with me again."

Oh, what temptation. Severus refused to let himself be swayed though. "No, no, Ms. Granger. You've obviously not spent any long periods of time with the Headmaster. He would never let me forget this, should I follow your advice. I would have to deal with you each and every time I saw him. For the rest of my life. And that just will not do."

She stared at him in shock. He was serious, he really wasn't going to let her go. How to…

It came to her in a flash. Who did Snape hate beyond all reason?

"I'm Sirius Black's daughter!" She burst out.

They sat frozen for a moment. Severus swallowed with a little difficulty and then asked, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Hermione could fake bravado with the best of them. "So there. If my being Gryffindor isn't enough to get you to leave me alone, the man you hate most in the world is my sire."

Though she held her chin high, she could help but tremble a bit at the fury that entered his dark black eyes. Oh Merlin, maybe this had been a bad idea, she thought.

Severus forced himself not to overreact. "And who exactly told you this?" He asked, thinking back furiously. Though it was often wondered if Granger had slipped through the cracks of wizarding society by actually being the recipient of two Squibs repressed magic, no specific families had ever been managed.

The Black family did have almost as bad a problem with wild hair as the Potters, he thought idly, thinking of Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black.

"The Sorting Hat gave me a clue that I worked out." She said, confused by his calmness. Where was the anger? The throwing things? The "Get out of my house and never come back again!"?

"And you have seen fit to inform no one?" He asked.

"I don't see what difference it would make." She said, shrugging.

"You saw no…" He trailed off, biting back his retort. Muggle-born, he reminded himself. She was Muggle-born. Or, at least, Muggle-raised, he amended. She knew nothing of just how important heredity was to Pure-bloods. "You belong to Sirius Black." He said, staring hard at the girl. He saw nothing of Black in the child.

"Yes sir." She said. "You- you're not angry?"

"Ms. Granger, I don't think you understand my position." He said, still searching for a similarity. Well, she did have a penchant for horrible friends and had no problem breaking the rules. "I am responsible for your safety for this week. I will have to answer to both Dumbledore and McGonagall should anything happen to you. Who your father is, whatever revenge you are trying to get, is meaningless to me. It has no effect on your presence here. You will stay here."

Her face fell, startling him. "You thought revealing your paternity would change my mind?" He asked, smirking. "I assure you, it does not. It changes nothing." On the contrary, this was the answer he had been waiting for… If he could calm her down, he could use her to help him. "My opinion of you is set." Actually, it wasn't. He knew very little about the girl and already felt that was more than enough. But it seemed to calm her.

"Yes sir." She said, sighing. That had been her last resort. Obviously he was unhappy with the knowledge; his arms were still tightly clenched at his sides, but it didn't seem to be directed at her. He seemed mad at the mention of Sirius, but not of her, which was curious considering how he disliked Harry. Maybe it was because she was a girl. Or possibly because she looked nothing like Sirius.

"Good." He said, seeing the defeat in her eyes. For the night, her anger was gone. Well, perhaps not completely. "You had better get to sleep. I will escort to your room for the duration. You need to be well rested to best plot revenge." He knew from personal experience.

He stood, gesturing her out the door. He led her upstairs and down the hallway to a guest room beside his childhood room. Before she went in, she turned back to look at him. "Professor, you won't stop me?" She asked curiously. "I seemed to worry Professor McGonagall when I spoke of revenge."

"Oh, I would never discourage an attempt." He assured her. "Though not a foolish one."

"I'm not foolish." She vowed. "I'll make them pay."

She went into her room, waving to him. He made his way back down to his office with a smirk on his face. Oh, he had no doubt, should her anger continue to be stroked that she would carry through. As long as that bloody compassionate side of the Gryffindor gene-pool suddenly kick in.

He had no doubt the girl could be deadly. So, in the interests of keeping one of the few friends he had, he had better warn Lucius. Especially since he was going to help her.


	3. In Which Lucius Hears His Fate

Chapter Three: In Which Lucius Hears His Fate

Severus knew what was expected when Lucius Malfoy came to call and so was just setting out a bottle of his finest Firewhiskey when the other man stepped through the Floo. After quickly resetting the ward so that no one else could get through- Slytherin paranoia at its best! - Severus turned to his friend.

"Lucius, how good to see you again." Severus greeted his friend.

"Severus, you did get the girl, right?" Lucius asked even as he sat. "Bellatrix and I were dispatched so quickly I could barely get warning to Dumbledore. Potter's Muggle-born, she was rescued wasn't she?"

Severus couldn't hold back a smirk. "To your detriment, yes she was. She is upstairs, probably plotting her revenge as we speak."

He handed his friend a class of the foul liquor, watching with amusement as Lucius turned frightened eyes towards the ceiling.

"It's not funny." Lucius said, tossing back the glass and quickly pouring out another one. "You should have seen what she did to Macnair. No, not even him," the blonde quickly decided. "The Lestrange brothers got the worst of it. Macnair got a relatively quick death. Rodolphus doesn't have to worry about his Dark Mark anymore because she took off his left arm, as well as most of his face. Rabastan was trying to keep his insides where they were supposed to be- she hit him with some kind of slashing spell that won't heal. She did get Bella with something, but I don't know what it was, as Bella Apparated away."

"She is bound and determined to get you and Bellatrix. She's frightened the other Professors, and since Dumbledore is away for the week, they sent her here." Severus said, sipping his own whiskey. "I'm not sure why I was the favored choice, but I say let the girl have her fun."

"Yeah, until she tries to kill me!" Lucius exclaimed, abruptly draining his own. "I do believe I'm more frightened of that chit of a girl than I am of Bella and Cissy combined. And you know you never want to anger a Black woman."

Severus nodded in agreement, taking another drink to wash away the thought. Those who thought Lucius ruled over Narcissa could not be more wrong. Though nowhere near the level of crazy that her older sister was, the beautiful woman was quite dangerous in her own right.

"Maybe you should talk to Narcissa." Severus suggested, smirking at the thought of the head of Malfoy hiding behind his tiny wife. "She can protect you."

"That's not funny, Snape. Not at all." Lucius said, scowling. "I was trying to save the girl's parents when the others went after the chit. Her mother is dead, but her father is in a coma. There is some hope for him. You may want to offer her that tidbit."

"I'll pass it along to Dumbledore." Severus said. "But I don't think I'll tell her. Her anger might be the motivation that she needs to become an important part of the war. Right now Potter only uses her for her brains. If I can get her past her instinctively peaceful reactions, we might have a new warrior on our hands."

Lucius scoffed. "You just want to see her go head to head with Bella."

"That too." Severus agreed happily. "It'll be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But as you stated, she knows obscure spells. Considering the girl would live in the library if given the opportunity, it isn't a surprise that she finds spells that have fallen from use. But she's timid until angered. I'll have to work on that, and then her dueling abilities. Beyond their little clandestine club this year, the only experience the chit has is Lockhart's abomination of a Dueling club her second year."

"Merlin." Lucius moaned, shaking his head in amazement. "She's already lethal and the best dueler in your year is going to train her. Do you want me to die? Have I not been a good friend to you over the years? I made the godfather of my son."

"A spoilt brat." Severus interjected.

Lucius waved away the criticism. "I freely told you of my conquests so that you could live vicariously through me," he went on.

"Even when I begged you not to." Severus added, shuddering.

Lucius grinned, but continued. "I take you into my home when you blow up your latest cauldron and help you to recover."

"Again, even when I plead for mercy and the much easier solution of death." Severus added sourly, crossing his arms.

"And I always take it upon myself to make sure you are seated next to an eligible and gorgeous woman when you come to my parties." Lucius concluded happily.

"So that you can now live vicariously through me, not for my benefit." Severus said at once. "And you make me come to those parties and the women are always bimbos." He suddenly turned to the other man. "Remind me why I'm friends with you again?"

"Cause no one can stand you, Snape." Lucius said cheerily. The list may not have helped the younger man, but it sure helped him. He did enjoy playing with Severus's life. He gave such amusing responses.

"I'm quite sure at one point in time I would have chosen to have no friends rather than to be friends with you." Severus mused, setting his chin on his hand as he pondered the issue. "Perhaps this plot has been waiting in the back of my mind, just to get rid of you. It does, after all, have a very strong probability of your dying. At this moment, I can't say I'm too terribly upset about that."

Lucius laughed. "You'd miss me, Snape, and you know it. Then you'd have to delve into necromancy. And worse than that, Narcissa is a Black. You know their stance on husbands dying when a child is involved. The godfather is immediately to wed the widow. Do you really want to chain yourself to my wench?"

Severus shuddered. "I had forgotten that." He admitted, taking another drink. "No thank you. I suppose I had better figure out how to save your arse anyways." He decided, slightly upset.

The blonde laughed again. "Don't sound so disheartened, Snape, the girl may still kill me. Maybe she'll do you a favor and take out my wife too."

"I could never get so lucky as to get rid of you both at once." Severus said, shaking his head.

"You can always dream. And hey, have some respect. I did help you to become a spy, didn't I?" Lucius said, looking magnanimous.

"No, actually I helped you become a spy. You helped me _become _a Death Eater, you prat." Severus said, scowling. "As I think about it, I really hate you. Perhaps marrying Narcissa will be worth it." He decided. "She is gorgeous."

"That she is." Lucius agreed. "You can forgive a beautiful woman a lot of evil."

Severus snorted, amused at the conversation. "Well now I'm not sure if I want the girl's plan to succeed or not. Either way, you'd better lay low for the time being. She'll be here for a week, but then I'm not sure where she'll end up."

"I will keep that in mind." Lucius said, finishing his glass and standing. "And as I am now on the run officially from the ministry, I will mostly be around my house. Floo me if you need help plotting. I know it was never your strong point."

"Ha." Severus mocked as he walked the other over to the fireplace. "I've put this brilliant plot together, haven't I?"

"No, Snape, this was given to you, wrapped up in a neat package." Lucius teased. "And worse yet, don't forget your master plot has a Gryffindor at the center of it, giving it only a fifty-fifty chance of succeeding. I like those odds."

"I'll come to your funeral." Severus mocked as the other man stepped through, laughing.

**************************************************************************

After Severus drank a cup of black coffee, to sober himself a little, he went upstairs to check on the girl. The light was still shining through the guest room door, so he knocked gently and opened the door.

The girl was asleep at the desk in the room, her cheek pressed against the book in front of her. Each room had a few bookshelves in it and she had wasted no time in checking the books in her own. He suddenly felt as if he were back in the Snake's den, checking on the common room only to find a sleeping student. He had cast the spells so often, it took no time to levitate her over to the bed and under the covers. A quick flick of the wrist took care of her shoes, but other than that, she was staying the same.

"Good night, Ms. Granger." He said softly, closing the door and heading to his lab.

He had various potions going all around his private lab, all in different levels of difficulty and completion. The focus of his endeavours for the last several months had been in the potion he was attempting to brew in a small golden cauldron in the middle of the room.

He made his way there again, checking the potion restlessly. He had finally gathered all of the ingredients and now had a very large chance of succeeding. Whether he liked the end result or not, he would be famous once he released the discovery. Britain wasn't the only Wizarding community whose magic had resulted in a Veil that led to nowhere, nor was Sirius Black the first (relatively) innocent person to fall through. Up until now, there had been no cure and it had truly become a death. But Severus was going to do the impossible.

He was going to bring back Sirius Black.

He sat down, content that the potion was still fine, musing on his attempts. It would be the sweetest of victories, to be responsible for Black's very life. It would kill the other man.

He sighed, before his glee could get too built up. Even he could see how much Potter was suffering. Albus had been sending someone to check on the boy several times a day, in addition to the guards around his home, seriously fearing a suicide attempt. Not that Potter ever looked healthy, but even Severus could admit the boy wasn't even trying to thrive anymore.

Severus couldn't imagine how painful it must be for a child to lose the only father-figure he could remember in such a mess. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the boy blamed himself. And unfortunately, no one knew what to do to help the boy, besides letting Granger's 'secret' letters through.

So, Severus had come to this. Trying to rescue his only arch enemy left, now that Potter senior was dead. If Dumbledore thought love was Potter's weapon, well, getting his godfather back ought to be some damned powerful ammunition.

They needed to get rid of Voldemort as quickly as possible. And thinking that, severus got up to check the potion again. Nothing could go wrong here, he had to finish as quickly as possible.

The Dark Lord was going down and the true victory behind it would be at Severus's hand. That was more than enough to feed his quite-well-developed Slytherin ambition, thank you very much.


	4. How to Build A Vengeful Witch

Chapter Four: How to Build An Vengeful Witch

Whether at home or at school, Severus had an established routine. He was a habit of creature, meaning he could run his schedule whilst only half-conscious, which was helpful in times when he was sleep-deprived due to any of his activities. It was a habit he was thankful of the next morning, as he dragged himself out of bed at his usual vacation time of 6 am to get started with his daily brewing.

Because he often spent the first few hours of every day going through actions so mundane to him, it took him until well after ten to realize that he had yet to see the Granger girl. He never ate breakfast except when Dumbledore took the time to force him to do so, meaning he hadn't bothered going into the dining room. He was sure the house-elves would have set out a meal for the girl, but he wasn't sure she'd have known them, coming form a Muggle background.

With a sigh, he cast a Stasis charm on his cauldron. He knew he had to go check on her. Wouldn't do to have the poor dear waste away, he thought sarcastically as he made his way to her room. He wondered vaguely if she still had issues with house-elves, because if she did she was going to have to make her own meals, because he did not cook.

He hesitated outside of her room. He doubted she was still asleep, but as he knew from the times his godson stayed over, teens did keep odd schedules when they thought they could get away with it. The death of her only living family could have left her more exhausted than normal.

But his fears proved to be worthless, as he heard the girl muttering under her breath through the door.

"Ms. Granger?" He called, knocking lightly on the door.

There was a screetch of wood and then her footsteps brought her to the door, which she opened slightly. "Hello Professor." She said, face neutral. "Can I help you?"

"Ms. Granger, I am here to inquire into your health. Have you eaten yet this morning?" He asked. "Are you feeling well?" He added, looking her over critically. She was dressed as casually as he had ever seen her, in jeans, bare feet and a quidditch jersey that was much too big for her and offensive to his eyes, as it was in Gryffindor red and gold.

"No, I haven't." She said shortly, darting a quick glance back into the room. "I'm not hungry. If that's all." She said, starting to close the door.

Severus quickly put up a hand to block her. "Ms. Granger, I will not let you put up a fuss and try to avoid eating to get out of here sooner." He said, eyes narrowing. "So such a protestation means nothing to me. If you think I won't force-feed you Nutrition Potions if you avoid eating, you had better think again."

"Honest, Professor." She said, eyes widening. She knew, having been forced several of the potions whenever the boys felt she had missed too many meals and forced her up to the Hospital wing, that said potions were foul tasting. "I'm just not hungry right now. I don't often eat breakfast."

Despite what the students believed, the teachers did keep track of them, so he knew of her exploits. "It's not because I have house-elves, is it?" He asked suspiciously. "Becuase I'll have you know those elves have been in my family for generations and they probably think they have more claim to this house than i do."

Her eyes grew wide in shock at hearing that he had house-elves and she couldn't help but glare. Obviously, he realized with a wince, she hadn't known about said creatures.

Still, to his relief, she shook her head. "No, Professor." She said. "Though I still think that's slavery, that's not my problem right now. I have bigger issues to tackle. I really just wasn't hungry."

"Very well." He said reluctantly. "Now, what are you up to?" He asked, as her eyes darted back to the room again.

"Nothing Professor!" She exclaimed. "I'm-"

He ignored her, pressing his way into the room, only to stop short at the sight before him. The sparesly decorated room had been blown up with books. There were piles of books on the desk and all over the bed as well as more than a few on the dresser and floor beside the bed. "Where in Merlin's name did all of these come from?" He asked.

She quickly lost her guilty air, raising her chin defiantly. "I bought them. I realized even before the attack that I was going to be in danger and began carrying some emergency books with me just in case."

"Your trunk couldn't possibly have fit all of these books." He said, unbelieving. He'd known the girl was a bookworm, but really... There had to be over fifty books out.

"I shrank them." She said, shrugging. "They were all fine."

Now he knew something was off. "I felt no magic in the wards." He said, closing his eyes and reaching out with his magic. Yes, the wards were still, in fact, bound to him. He would have felt any magic, though the wards would have prevented the Ministry from detecting Underage usage.

She blushed, looking down at her daintily painted toes, and he knew he had her. "Well..." She said, darting a quick look up at him. He didn't look angry yet. "I found this neat book last summer. A Muggle book, but it was a fantasy book. It talked about...well...wandless magic. And so I started trying it. It actually works. Will we learn wandless magic?" She asked, suddenly curious. "I read through Hogwarts, A History and it didn't say anything aobut the subject, though it did say some classes are available on 'special' subjects."

It took Severus a moment before he could speak again. "You- you can use wandless magic?" He asked.

"Mm-hm." She said, frowning. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but she was almost positive he looked shocked. "Is that- weird?"

He grinned suddenly, frightening the girl so much that she stumbled back. "Oh no, Ms. Granger." He said, quickly resuming his usual frown. "That is a sign of a very strong witch." He said. "It is very rare. With the exceptions of a few others in your class, not many of the other dunderheads will ever aquire such a talent." He said. "That's your ticket to success, Ms. Granger." He siad. "Your revenge. You can do things with wandless magic that cannot be managed with a wand. All you need is a competant teacher and in that...I can help you!"

He couldn't help but grin again. Wait until he told Lucius. Oh, he could just imagine the look on his face.

* * *

Short but sweet, as well as muy importante. Sorry for the long wait, there's a much bigger update on my other fic. Plz review and leave any suggestions.


	5. In Which Two Devious Minds Combine

Chapter Five- In Which Two Devious Minds Combine

After commandeering the Muggle book she had used, Severus retreated to his den. He had many bookshelves there, filled to the brim with his books, but also had a special bookshelf that allowed him to request books from the library in his parents' Manor, Prince Manor. He could go there himself, but didn't need the headache.

If he was going to train the girl, he'd need all the books on the subject he could get. He'd never taught the subject, had only learned it himself the year after Voldemort had fallen the first time.

Albus had used it the same way he intended to- to exhaust his student. Though he would probably advance quicker with his student than Albus had, if she was already able to unShrink and Shrink objects.

Actively using Wandless magic was hard, very exhausting for the user, as they were essentially throwing their magical strength out and forcing it to do as they wished. It was perfect, another gift that had been handed to him. The girl had a lot of nervous energy and more than a bit of raw anger- practicing Wandless magic would quickly burn that off.

Hopefully he could burn off enough that she would curb her Gryffindor tendencies and settle down enough to build a sound plan.

Nevermind the fact that he could tease Lucius about this. That was only a secondary concern.

Well…he allowed himself a small grin. Mostly a secondary concern.

Wandless magic actually might be an adequate means of capturing Bellatrix, however, he thought, forcing his glee down. He had no intentions of letting his best friend die, no matter how he teased the man, but Bellatrix needed to be exterminated.

Dumbledore, in his usual idiotic Gryffindor state, had never taken any real actions against the woman as he believed her death belonged to someone more appropriate. Severus snorted. Albus was probably expecting Longbottom to kill the woman, never mind that the boy was practically a Squib and Bellatrix was…one of the deadliest women in the Wizarding world.

Even half-insane as her stay in Azkaban had made her, she was deadly. She had long acted as the Dark Lord's lead assassin and torture expert, filling in gleefully whenever a job came up that even most of the Death Eaters couldn't stomach. Even Voldemort himself was more than a little wary of the woman. If not for her devout faith in Him, Severus was sure the woman would have been put down long ago.

While Severus had no faith in Longbottom's abilities (well, in anything really) to succeed, he had no doubts the spitfire Gyffindor girl in his guest room could. She would have to be careful though… As Bella was one of the Dark Lord's most faithful servants, he often kept her at his stronghold, in case of emergencies.

Severus could get the chit in without many problems, but he wouldn't be able to go with her. The Dark Lord would feel his signature and be expecting him.

Hmm…A plan started forming in Severus's mind, finally strong enough to pull him away from his research into the Veil. With an evil grin, he grabbed a new sheet of parchment and began scribbling.

***

By morning, Severus could no longer contain his grin. He had it plotted, his whole course for success. It would allow the young Lioness her revenge, while fitting in with his plans and might even, should he be uncharacteristically lucky, help with the Headmaster's eventual plan for defeating the Dark Lord.

Finally satisfied, he threw down his quill and stretched. Looked like he wouldn't be getting any brewing done for awhile, as he desperately needed sleep. Or…

But first…"Missy!"

He yawned loudly and when he opened his eyes again, a family house-elf stood before him. This elf had raised him from childhood and was wearing an all-too familiar face of disapproval. "Young Master is calling Missy?" The blonde elf asked, tapping her foot.

He knew from long experience she was not going to be happy if he wasn't quickly in bed, so he changed his half-formed plans. He had intended to take some No-Snooze potion and see if he couldn't begin some of the infirmary potions Poppy would need next year but didn't want to risk being warded out of his lab again, as his overprotective elf was prone to doing. While some wizards might not have to worry about their elves, bound by they were to their 'Master's' bidding, Snape elves did not have the same bounds. One of his matriarchs, Calia Snape had weaved a complicated spell into the traditional binding that instead bound the elves to do what was best for their masters, over what their master necessarily wanted, though the elves still obeyed as well.

"Yes." He said instead. "Missy, I want you to go check up on my houseguest, Ms. Granger. I don't know that she's eaten at all since she got here." He recognized, quite clearly, a fellow scholar who would put books above anything and could easily go without eating for days. It fit the little know-it-all perfectly. Though she was still in her teens, she was well on her way to being one of his academic equals. "You are to make sure she eats at least twice today, even if it means you have to take all of her books."

There. Missy would love the opportunity to make someone else's life a misery for a bit…for their own good, of course. That would teach the chit.

The order seemed to please Missy, a perenial mothering sort, as well. "Missy will take good care of Young Miss." She promised, grinning at the order. "Good-night Master," she added, curtseying and popping out.

***

He managed to get in six hours, a good amount compared to his usual three to four, before he was pulled back. As was usual, his projects were far more interesting than anything. It was only when Missy popped back in that he even considered the time again.

"Young Master should be followings his orders for Young Miss." Missy scolded. Severus was bent over his desk, writing in his fastidiously neat handwriting on a scroll of parchment that had to be as tall as he was. "Master needs to be eating!" She said, a clear warning in her voice.

Severus rolled his eyes, feeling as if he were a teen again, being scolded. Nevertheless, he cast a Tempus spell, to check the time. "It's already supper time!" He exclaimed, shocked in spite of himself. It always amazed him how time would fly when he was doing what he loved, yet dragged on when he was forced to teach dunderheaded children year after year. "Has Ms. Granger eaten supper yet?" He asked, turning back to his elf as he tucked his wand back up his sleeve.

"No, Master." Missy said, frowning at the messy desk. She snapped her fingers, clearing the clutter though her magic intuitively left the important papers and grinned when finished. It looked much better now! "Missy was just about to take Young Miss her supper."

"Excellent." The ever-efficient man said, pleased. "Escort her to the dining room instead. We shall eat there together in fifteen minutes." That way, he could get some food, please Missy and talk to the Gryffindor teen without having to search for her.

"Yes Master." Missy said, dipping in another curtsey. "Missy will get Young Miss."

***

Severus took a few minutes to clean himself up and then made his way to the dining room. It was decorated in the same wooden furniture that the rest of the Manor was, complete with a dark stain and blue and silver decorations. Snape's had a long history of being in Ravenclaw, though he had followed his mother's line and went to Slytherin.

He took his seat at the head of the long table, already set for two with an additional plate to his right, and waited. Not ten minutes had passed before Missy appeared, talking animatedly to a tired-looking Hermione Granger.

"Ms. Granger, you aren't sleeping." He stated, as she took her seat. Missy snapped her fingers and lunch appeared on the table before them, before she departed for the kitchens.

"I am having a little trouble with that." She admitted, dutifully filling her plate with some vegetables, ignoring the chicken parsala that had been served as the main course. "I've been practicing spells." She answered to his silent question. "I haven't had time for sleep. I thought you were going to help me?" She said accusingly, after a moment.

"And I shall." He promised. "I have been busy working on ways to help you. But if I do, Ms. Granger," he added, his Slytherin mind suddenly supplying him the answer he had searched in vain for whilst planning. "I shall expect your help on a project of mine."

She had been playing idly with her sparse helping of food and now she finally looked up at him. "Professor, I appreciate your help in this, but I truly don't expect to come out of it alive. In the rare occasion that I succeed, I imagine I'll be in Azkaban for the foreseeable future. I'll be using more than a few illegal curses to hope to take out even one of them."

The child was definitely more suicidal than he had previously thought, he realized, idly tucking that worrying thought away for another occasion. Still, he kept enough prescence of mind to snap at the girl in his usual acerbic tones, "Please, Ms. Granger, use some sense. You are going after two of the most wanted Death Eaters out there. Should you survive you will applauded and both Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter will speak for you. All that is necessary is that you survive and I will simply have to make sure that happens."

Oddly enough, he felt insulted when she still didn't seem hopeful. "Ms. Granger, I have been working for years to ensure my survival." He said, glaring at her. "If there is one thing I am well-skilled in, besides Potions, it is surviving."

That finally garnered him a smile. "I suppose so, sir." She said. "Now that I've calmed a bit, I have started to think about what would happen afterwards. Thank you for agreeing to help me. I might have done something very stupid otherwise."

Oh no, now the girl was sounding much too repentant, Severus realized. "You are still planning to go through with it then?" He asked, careful to keep his voice neutral, acting as if he didn't care one way or the other while he silently cursed that her Gryffindor side might be reasserting itself.

Ah, there was that spark. "No sir!" She exclaimed, straightening as her eyes took on a determine glint. "They're going to pay. I meant that and I still do. What I'm not going to do is get caught up. My plan is going to have to be perfect."

She looked at him curiously. "Can you help me with that?"

Leaving her to her own devices had apparently been more successful than he could have ever imagined, as it seemed to have burned off her blood-lust, leaving just enough of it to encourage her logic to its full potential. Excellent.

"Ms. Granger," he replied, voice smug at the joy her metamorphous had created within him. "I never planned to do otherwise."

* * *

Hey guys, here's the next chapter. I know this kind of drags, but the action is going to pick up from here, I promise. Plz review, let me know what you think.


	6. In Which Dumbledore Visits

Chapter Six- In Which Dumbledore Visits

"Again!"

Hermione regretted her request for Severus's help almost as soon as they begun. By the time they reached the end of the week, Hermione was dead tired. And half-ready to kill Severus. The bloody bastard… He had begun her practice and hadn't stopped since.

"Again!" Severus said, pacing back in forth in front of her. "You have to keep your concentration, Ms. Granger." He scolded. "I know you have the abilities to do this, but you are not focusing. You will not succeed this way."

Hermione sighed, rubbing her temples. _I'd like to see you try_, she thought viciously, conveniently ignoring the fact that he had spent the week demonstrating the spells without a wand before he made her do it. "I- it doesn't usually work like this!" She complained, feeling ridiculously like bursting into tears. "When I use my magic, it's not this hard!"

She looked exhausted, as he had expected. He had spent the week pushing her closer and closer to her breaking point. He didn't want her to go over that point, but he wanted to see how far she could go. "That is because you never pushed." He explained. He could be patient in this, as he remembered (though he had long tried to block it out of his mind) just how hard the practice was. There was a reason why most wizards and witches couldn't manage and didn't care to try most of the time. "You've been practicing simple spells. We're moving quickly through more advanced ones. Stunning spell- again."

He released the rat he had acquired again to run around the room.

Hermione took a deep breath, sighing, and then pulled her concentration together again. "_Stupefy!_" She intoned, pointing her fingers at the small white rat. She felt a flow of magic leaving her core and traveling down to her fingertips.

In a flash of red, the rat froze in position on the middle of the floor.

"Excellent." He said, waving his wand and unStunning the rat. "Again."

"_Stupefy!_" She exclaimed again, forehead browed. The rat froze and she dropped into her chair again. "Professor, I can't do this anymore!" She said, careful not to whine. He definitely did not care for that. "I'm so tired- it's only noon. Why wasn't I tired like this before?" She asked. 'Again' had become her most hated word, she had heard it so often this week.

Severus held back a smirk. He didn't even need Legimancy to read the girl; her emotions were just about bleeding off of her. She was taking the exhaustion much better than he had. He had finally gone into a fury, overturning the table Albus had been making him Transfigure and burned it to a crisp. Her anger and frustration would sustain her, even through her exhaustion.

"You weren't tired before because you never spent much time doing Wandless magic." Severus explained, trying to figure out a way to explain. He had never been very good at explaining magical theory. "Did you Shrink all of those books all in the same day?" He tried.

"No." She said, shaking her head. She yawned and then her eyes lit up. "But if I did more than a few, I got a headache."

"That's the first sign from using Wandless magic." Severus said, nodding in pleasure at her deduction. "You've become used to it, or learned to work around it. Now that you are using stronger magic, it is causing a greater strain. All you can do is practice. And sleep." He added wryly.

The time when he had been learning Wandless magic had been the only time in his adult life when he could easily sleep through the night. It was a trick he still used, when he couldn't risk any more Dreamless Sleep for fear of overdosing, as he still got exhausted when he did magic without a wand.

She laughed at his words, raising her hand to her mouth to cover another yawn. "I see that." She said sourly, as amused with him as she was annoyed at herself. "I should have practiced more. This is my own fault." She added, morose. "I shouldn't be having these problems."

"Don't worry yourself unduly." Severus said, waving off the concern. "You've made a good start. You need to practice every day. Wandless magic is undetectable by the Ministry, so you have no reason not to practice." He looked her over sternly. "I do hope you will strive not to disappoint me." He warned.

"No sir!" She said, sitting up straight.

He nodded, pleased with her answer. They lapsed into a comfortable silence, until Hermione couldn't contain her curiosity anymore. Morbid though it was, she had to know.

"Do you…know who they're going to put me with?" She asked hesitantly.

Severus stopped short, unreasonably surprised by the question. He should have expected it from the perpetually curious child, but he really didn't want to answer it. What if she began crying? He wasn't prepared to deal with such an eventuality. Merlin help him there.

"The Headmaster will be sent here as soon as he arrives back at the castle." Severus said cautiously, watching for tears. If the girl started crying, he might just take off running. "He will figure something out." He assured her. "You will likely be sent to one of the Order members. Molly will want you, but I don't think the Headmaster will allow another valuable person to be sent to the Burrow. Despite the impressive wards there, having too many targets in one location is just too much for the Dark Lord to resist." He explained, filling sorry in spite of himself when her hopeful face fell.

"Oh." She said, nodding. The explanation, though it hurt her slightly, made sense. "Okay. Thank you, sir."

She yawned again and he waved at the door, deciding to have pity. "Go to sleep, Ms. Granger. Do not borrow worries. Tomorrow will be here soon enough."

"Yes, sir." She said, standing gratefully. She left quickly, half afraid he might change his mind and call her back.

Severus couldn't hold back a grin as she dragged herself out of the room. She looked pale and exhausted, which he knew objectively he shouldn't encourage in a student, but on the other hand, she hadn't spouted death threats in several hours, which he had to count as a success. Though the idea of her doing so didn't bother him, he knew neither the Headmaster nor Minerva would approve. He would already have to do some quick explaining to get the Headmaster to agree to his plan. She was also well on her way to succeeding in her plan, so he didn't worry. She often looked that way when off on one of her little reading jags, so if this was any worse than usual, Poppy would fix her up.

He couldn't hurt her in a week. He had lived like that for almost twenty years and it hadn't hurt him yet.

On the other hand, if Minerva found out about any of this, he would be in danger then. That could be bad- she'd never let him live it down. Not when he tried to do something to her star lioness.

He shook the thought off, summoning the rat to him with a thought. He put in it a cage and left.

***

Severus retreated to his laboratory to check on the various potions he was brewing, even while he began mentally rechecking the Arithmatic schemes for his Veil project. The plans for rescuing Black had taken over all of his free time and were often on his mind. He had gone over the plan, in general terms with Hermione several times, and had gained her tentative enthusiasm. He knew that there would be no problem there, she would be thrilled with the project.

He had also come to admire her skills with Arithmancy on the few times he had stopped her Wandless magic training to show her some of the overall schemes to his plan. He had always struggled in the subject, but had to have those equations perfect before he dared try and retrieve Black. He had set her to drawing blood into the equation which, as he'd thought, had simplified the variables significantly.

He'd just left out that it was her blood he'd need. That could wait til later. Much later.

His Veritaserum, always a useful potion to have around for both the Light side interogations and Voldemort's frequent demands, was bubbling contentedly, as were the dozen or so healing potions he brewed for Poppy. After doing them so often, for himself and for the Hospital Wing, he could practically do them in his sleep.

He had to clear his mind completely, though, as he turned to his latest batch of Wolfsbane. He still brewed it for Remus Lupin, as well as to several other unRegistered weres that he had befriended for one reason or another. Werewolves, with their enhanced smell and sight, were excellent Potion-gatherers and it was in his best interests to keep them Unregistered. Ministry Decrees be damned, he got some of his rarest ingredients that way.

He became so immersed in the next few steps of the foul-smelling concoction that he almost missed the Headmaster's arrival. How in Merlin's name did that man walk so bloody silently?, Severus wondered, scowling. He was ancient!

The old man had become quite adept at sneaking up on his Potions Master, but had accidentally stumbled into one of the side tables, ruining one of his entrances, to Severus's pleasure.

"Hello, Albus." Severus greeted the man, resisting the urge to pull out his wand. He hated being snuck up on, not that the Headmaster cared. "How was your vacation?"

"Severus." Albus greeted the younger man, smiling fondly at his boy's unhappy face. He loved teasing the boy, not that he often got to. "My vacation was lovely- it's great to get away with Abe every year. I'd like to thank you, my boy, for caring for Ms. Granger this week. Minerva was quick to explain the problem to me and I can only thank you. The Minister is in an uproar, since her disappearance. I have dozens of messages from him, demanding I produce the girl. Lucius's doing, I'm sure. Lucius was quite adamant about wanting the girl- for her best interests of course." He said, grinning slightly.

"Of course." Severus said dryly. It sounded classical Lucius. Merlin help them all if the man had succeeded-the girl would be dead before night fall. "Who do you intend to give her guardianship to?" He asked curiously. "I do believe it is worrying her more than a bit." He admitted, in a rare show of sensitivity. He yawned, rubbing his eyes. Merlin was he tired.

Albus looked closely at the man he still thought of as a boy, seeing classic signs of exhaustion. "I am working on it." He said. "You've been working too hard again, Severus." He said critically.

Severus finished stirring and finally turned to Albus, smirking. "I always work too hard, according to you." He said, rolling his eyes. It was disturbing, sometimes, just how big a worrywart the Defeater of Grindelwald was. "But I haven't been working anymore than usual. I've been teaching Granger Wandless magic. She's quite apt at it."

"Wandless magic? Truly?" Albus said, surprised even as he was impressed. "At fifteen? That's amazing." He'd never believed that Severus would have trained anyone in Wandless magic- the girl must have impressed him quite a bit.

"It's not that impressive." Severus said, squashing his pride at the girl. "She's sixteen physically and thanks to you turning her loose with that damn Time-Turner, she's probably well over seventeen. It was a good tool to squash her anger. I'm sure Minerva has told you of her vows of revenge."

"Mm." Albus shook his head sadly at the reminder. Hermione Granger was now the latest student that he had failed. He could only hope her actions hadn't driven her to darker actions. "The poor girl. I hope you didn't do anything to encourage her, Severus." He said, almost scoldingly. He didn't even want to think about what could happen between the brilliant young girl and the cunning Slytherin, should Severus decide he wanted to be amused. The man could be brilliantly convincing when he wanted to be, which was mostly when he wanted to do something.

"And why shouldn't I?" Severus said, crossing his arms petulantly. He knew the Headmaster would quickly suss out his plans and refused to let them be compromised. "She could take Bellatrix. I won't let her ultimately hurt Lucius, but I've enjoyed our conversations this week."

"Severus." Albus shook his head. "That girl is grieving. She needs time to work through her emotions."

"No, Albus." Severus said, amazed at always on the man's obtuseness. "That girl needs something to focus her rage on. She's going to be up against the Death Eaters until she stops being friends with Potter, which we all know means she's going to be in danger for quite a while. Now she has a goal and is working towards it. Whether or not she actually follows it through, she is learning effective spells that might one day save her life. She doesn't want to grieve and if you're honest, we don't want her to grieve. Granger is strong enough and powerful enough to be a valuable asset for our side. If she starts grieving now, before the war has begun at all, she'll never stop."

Albus closed his eyes at the harsh words, sad in the knowledge that no truer word had been spoken. "She's so young." He said, wanting to mourn. The girl's life would never be the same, no matter what happened.

"We are at war." Severus said coldly. "If this is what motivates her, don't take it from her."

"I suppose you're right, Severus," Albus said reluctantly. "Well, I have spoken with Nymphadora Tonks and she has agreed to take the girl in. You know Aurors sometimes take in orphans."

"Ms. Tonks?" Severus said doubtfully. "And why would she be given permission over Lucius? Not to mention Ms. Granger is far too logical and conservative to get along with Tonks for long."

Albus frowned, pondering Severus's words. "Ms. Tonks has quite some clout, being the last student of Alastor's, as well as Andromeda's daughter. Disowned or not, she is a Black. Lucius wouldn't dare anger Andromeda." He smiled. "And I think it would do both girls some good to learn from the other. Additionally, both are grieving right now and neither young lady is good at expressing emotions. Hopefully them being together will help them both."

"Hm." Severus said non-commitedly. That actually made sense- Lucius had long been intimidated by Andy, which had been why he had went for Narcissa when they were in school. If only he had known then that Cissy had modeled herself after Andy more than the crazy Bella. Severus smirked. "I guess that does make sense." He allowed. "If you don't mind and if you can convince Ms. Tonks, I'd like Ms. Granger to spend some time with me. I want to keep training her in Wandless magic."

"Tonks has asked for permission to move to Grimmauld. She doesn't have room for Hermione in her flat anyways, so she's going to move now instead of at the end of the month as she planned. It will be good, as I'm going to have several members in and out, so Ms. Granger won't be bored when Ms. Tonks is at work. You should be able to travel to Grimmauld whenever necessary," he said courteously. "Unless you plan on staying here longer?" He inquired. "I could make plans for her to spend another week with you before summer's end."

"No, that's quite alright, for right now." Severus said, after thinking for a minute. As he thought about it, he'd love to get back into Black's house, now that the Headmaster had applied the Fidelius Charm again. Perhaps he could find something with a large enough emotional-connection to Black. "I've a few ingredients stored at Grimmauld I didn't bother to take home and I wouldn't dare bring to the school with all the thieving little dunderheads we have there. I can brew a few things when I get there. I'll wait a few weeks though," he added, scowling. "Until Minerva gets to be too much again. And she owes me new ingredients." He added, eyes narrowing. He would not forget that.

Albus, having heard the whole story from Minerva, grinned. "Ah, yes. I will replace them all." He said, ever mindful of Severus's tempernment, especially considering his potions. The man never forgot anything and would take great pleasure otherwise in tormenting Minerva. She had confessed to feeling horrible about the whole thing to Albus, even though she held firm in her belief that she had done the right thing in forcing the Slytherin's hand.

"You damned well better." Severus said. "Now, the girl is asleep, so do you want me to wake her or just take her to Grimmauld when she wakes?" He was tired and was just about done talking.

"I would appreciate it if you would escort her there tomorrow." Albus said. "Remus will be there if Nymphadora is not and more than likely the Weasley twins will also be in residence. They've been sneaking there to brew, I'm sure, in peace. Remus has been guiding them as best as he could, but Potions was never his forte. Perhaps you could work with them some," he suggested, knowing of Severus's secret mentorship with the redheads. "You need to relax some, Severus. Enjoy some of the summer."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Severus said, ignoring the fact that Albus knew all. He would deny it to the death that he worked with the twins on several occasions.

"Of course, Severus." Albus said good-naturedly, secure in the knowledge that Severus would prevent the more dangerous explosions now that he knew what the twins were up to. "I would also like to point out, should the information interest you, that Mr. Ronald Weasley is in Romania with his elder brother, Charles, for the rest of the month, so you would not run into him…should you decide to venture to Grimmauld. Now, I must be off. I have piles of paperwork waiting for me."

"Good night, Albus." Severus said, waving the man off. As Albus left, the Slytherin Head of House grinned again. Oh this summer was turning out perfectly. The youngest male Weasley was his largest problem with the Weasley's. The boy had no maturity at all and nothing bothered Severus more. He could go see how the twins were faring and save them the hassle of Remus Lupin's miserable attempts at assisting brewing. He enjoyed working on pranks with the twins, every once in awhile. It was like being in school again, challenging the self-styled 'Marauders'. He'd been able to hold his own for many years and enjoyed the challenges the two boys offered.

But they had an understanding and no one else would ever know of it. It was their own business.

Oh yes, this would be fun.

* * *

A little dull, but I promise the action is going to pick up quickly after this. For all those who have reviewed-- THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your reviews make my day. For those who asked about updates- I don't have the internet at home, so I can't update as often as I'd like, but I try to do so once a week or so. Thanks for reading!! Minara.


	7. In Which Grimmauld Is Overrun

Chapter Seven- In Which Grimmauld Is Overrun

The next afternoon, Severus was comfortably seated in his den, reading through his syllabi for the next school year when his house guest finally woke. He didn't let that bother him, as he knew just how much energy the girl was expending in her efforts.

Missy alerted him when the girl had finally awoken and Severus arranged for her to come meet him.

"Good afternoon, sir." She said, as she took a seat across the desk from him. There was a small pop as soon as she sat down, as Missy sent up a tray of food to sit on the desk between them.

"Please, eat up." He said, gesturing to the spread. "After you eat, pack up your books and things and I will be taking you to Grimmauld Place."

"Yes sir." She said, daintily eating a sandwich. "Did Professor Dumbledore tell you who I was going to be placed with?" She asked curiously.

Severus nodded. "You're going to officially be placed in the custody of Ms. Tonks." He explained to the Gryffindor girl.

At his words, Hermione's face lit up. "Tonks! She's great. But isn't she kind of…young?" She added, a little confused. "She's not too much older than I am."

"She's old enough." Severus said shortly, not wanting to discuss his former student. "Additionally, she had enough credentials to make sure that you remain in her custody and not be remanded into the custody of the highest bribe the Minister receives." He explained.

"It will be good to see Tonks again." Hermione decided, smiling. "She's living in Grimmauld?" Hermione finally realized what he had said. "So soon after Sirius's death?"

Now Severus found himself interested, as the connection finally hit him. If she was Sirius's daughter, then she was Tonks' cousin. "Have you spoken to Ms. Tonks about your relation to her?" He asked curiously.

"No!" Hermione exclaimed, looking at him in surprise. Hadn't she made it clear? "Professor, you're the only one who knows. I never even told Harry and Ron."

"Are you going to tell her?" The professor asked. "You are family."

Hermione considered for a moment and then shook her head. "I don't think so." She said. "I mean, really, why bother? I've no proof about my claim. Maybe I'd just anger Tonks."

"You've no proof?" Severus didn't think a simple conversation should be able to confuse him so much. "How do you claim to be his daughter then?"

Hermione shrugged. "I never bothered with proof, because I never intended to tell anyone. The Sorting Hat wanted to put me in a different House than Gryffindor." She said, smiling slightly, though her cheeks glowed pink with embarrassment.

That was no surprise to Severus. "I believe that." He informed her. "I think you would have been far better-off if you had gone to Ravenclaw instead of to Gryffindor. At least you would have found fellow academics there."

She blushed even harder. "Actually, while the Hat did consider Ravenclaw for me, it wasn't one of the final two choices. The Hat said…" She frowned, trying to remember the words that had rattled around in her head for so many years. "My ambitions were unsurpassed, but much like my Father it didn't think that Slytherin would be supportive enough for me." She rolled her eyes. "And then it riffled around in my head and laughed when I tried to tell it that it had never met my father. It then said it would continue my family's new tradition. I thought then it was going to put me in Ravenclaw, but it shouted 'Gryffindor'."

She shrugged. "It confused me for a long time, but in third year, when we found out about Sirius's innocence, I got curious. I looked into his family and realized he fit a lot of things. I managed to get a bit of his hair during fourth year and I brewed the Paternity Potion. It confirmed, but he wasn't exactly in a position for me to tell him. I sure didn't want to give him something else to worry about."

"How can you say you have no proof?" Severus asked, frowning. "The Paternity Potion is valid evidence, Ms. Granger. It's often used in Wizengamot trials."

"Yes, but that was years ago." Hermione protested. "And I can't exactly get his hair now, to rebrew it, can I?"

"Ms. Granger," Severus sighed. "Believe me, I'm not often one to spout pure-blood sentimentalities, even if I am the Head of Slytherin. But I think you should consider telling the Blacks of your connection. It's very important to a pure-blood family to meet all of it's heirs. Especially if you're the only child of its former Head of House."

The first hint of doubt shadowed her face. "I didn't really think it mattered. I'd have been disowned anyways," she said, shrugging. "If they'd known who I was from birth. Tonks' mum was disowned just because she married a Muggle-born."

"Black reinstated Andromeda and her whole line into the family." Severus explained patiently. Whatever problems he might have had with Black, he had known and respected Andromeda and had been glad to see her reinstated. "You would have been reinstated as well- had Orion even disowned you to begin with. It's a lot different when you're the first-born child of the Heir to the family, Ms. Granger. Even if you were Regulus's child, there would have been a good chance you would have been accepted into the family. The main branch of a family, unfair though it may be, has a different set of rules that it abides by than the accessory branches. That would be why your father was as reckless as he was. None of his cousins could have done the same, they would never have thought of it." "I'll think about it." She promised, biting on her lip as she thought the complications through. "I really will. I just think it might be too awkward to think about. Tonks got along really well with Sirius. I'm sure she's heartbroken. It'll be good to talk to her. So," she asked, abruptly tired of the discussion, "Is there anyone else staying at Grimmauld? Will it just be Tonks and me?" Severus shook his head, sensing now was not the time to push. "Remus Lupin will be there. Lupin has been staying at the house since we reopened it, except for when he goes out to talk with various werewolf factions. From what I understand, the Weasley twins have been sneaking there to get free from Molly and I know that several of the Aurors come there after work to spend time together and to chat with Moody. But no, Lupin is the only other one who regularly lives there. The rest all just stop in." "Do you stop in? Will you stop in?" She asked. She blushed, as her words mixed up. "I mean, are you going to keep tutoring me in Wandless magic?" She added hopefully.

"I will occasionally be there." Severus said, suppressing a grin at her excitement. Imagine, a Gryffindor lioness through and through wanting him around. "I keep several of my more vital ingredients in the basement there and one of Black's great-aunts was a Potions Mistress whose store outshines many, so I occasionally brew there. We will continue; I would never think of leaving you half-trained."

She brushed off the crumbs before standing. "Well, let me go pack up and we can go." She said.

"I shall be here." He assured her.

***

It was just over an hour before the two emerged in Grimmauld. They appeared in the library, where Remus Lupin sat at a table, immersed in a large, ancient book. He had a respectable pile of books blocking him from sight, but he stood as the two came into sight.

"Severus, Hermione, welcome!" He said, grinning at the two.

"Hello Remus." Hermione said, smiling at him.

"Lupin." Severus said, nodding at the other man. His insults to the Gryffindor had died off in the last few years, as nothing fazed the passive man. It just made Severus weary. As the man looked worse and worse since his best friend had fallen through the Veil, Severus couldn't bring himself to taunt the werewolf anymore. He was saving it up for when he rescued Black.

Then things could go back to normal.

"Well, let's get you to your room." Remus said, gesturing towards the door. "Enough of us have been through here now that the creatures have stopped sneaking back in. I thought you'd like a room closer to the library."

Hermione's eyes lit up. "That sounds lovely." She said, grinning. "I heard that the twins came here occasionally. Does Ginny?"

"No." Remus admitted. "But we thought you might like a different room, one closer to the others, in case you should need someone. Severus and myself both have rooms on this floor, as do Tonks and the twins."

"So did Sirius." She said, looking down at the ground awkwardly.

"Yes." Remus said, his smile a bit forced. "I'm in the room next to his and you're across from me and beside Tonks. Severus is actually beside mine and then there is the twins' room. When Harry comes, he'll be beside you. We've been using the second floor rooms for anyone who needs to stay over for a night, so all the permanent rooms have been moved up a floor."

Severus nodded to acknowledge his room, but was more interested in another bit of information the Headmaster hadn't seen fit to inform him. "When is Potter coming?"

To his relief, Remus sighed sadly.

"Probably not until his birthday again." Remus said bitterly. "Merlin forbid we get him away from the Muggles any sooner."

"Oh, I thought maybe he'd get out sooner." Hermione said, disappointed. They still had to get through half of June and the whole month of July before she'd see her friend. She had heard from Ron and knew that he was gone for the whole summer, as Mr. Weasley had felt it best to get Ron away from Mrs. Weasley's smothering and had wanted Ron to do something constructive this summer.

"So did I," Remus admitted. "Especially since…" He trailed off, but the haunting glance in his amber eyes easily finished his sentence.

He showed her to her room and left her to settle in before going to Severus's room. As per usual, Severus was unpacking his bag before allowing himself to venture down to the basement. "She isn't mourning at all." Remus said bluntly, leaning against the doorjamb.

"No, she isn't." Severus said, keeping his back to the other man. Though he hated being so vulnerable, he knew the other would never attack him in such an underhanded manner. He refused to join in on a Gryffindor pity party.

"You don't think that her repressing such emotions is bad?" Remus asked, his voice faintly reproving. He would never be so bold as to tell Severus he was wrong, but he was already worried about the girl.

Severus stilled, placing a final shirt in his dresser before slowly turning to face the other man. "I think, Lupin, that you should leave that girl be." He said firmly. So help him, if the other man didn't let the issue go, he was going to hex him. "As you ought to know, considering you taught the girl for a year, she is not a very expressive child. She spent all week vowing revenge and will no doubt go after her parents' attackers as soon as she thinks she can get away with it. Until then, don't push her. Leave her to her own devices and watch the books she reads in that blasted library."

Remus sighed, but nodded. "Alright, Severus." He said mildly. "If you don't think there is a problem, I won't let myself worry. If you're planning to brew, you'd best get down there pretty soon." He advised. "The twins showed up about an hour ago. There haven't been any explosions yet, though I can't say what that means for sure."

"I'll keep that in mind." Severus said, mentally shutting away the flare up of nervousness and curiosity that appeared in equal measurements. He wondered what those two were up to lately.

"Lupin, I have a question for you." He had to know the truth and was willing to continue a conversation with the werewolf if that was necessary. "Did Black have any children? Children that maybe he hid away?"

Remus stared at Severus, uncomprehending for a moment. "No!" He exclaimed, when he finally got control of his vocal chords again. "I know he was with quite a few women, but no! He was always careful. Why are you asking?"

Never a slow man, Remus was instantly curious. He had heard from Albus Dumbledore that Severus had been unusually quiet about the death of his long-time enemy. No one was making the mistake of thinking it was out of consideration for others; they all knew that Severus didn't care about that at all. He had also been checking out some rather odd book choices from the Hogwarts Library, books far different than his usual Potions, Defense or Dark Arts manuals, worrying the Headmaster.

But why in Merlin's name was he asking such questions? "Has someone been talking about an illegitimate child of his?" Remus asked, allowing the curiosity to appear on his face. If he thought he could get the answer from the other man, he would hound him, but luckily he knew better than to do that. "Do you know something, Severus?" He had to ask, hoping for once the other man's conscience would get the best of him.

"Just wondering if it were a possibility." Severus allowed. He knew he had peaked Lupin's curiosity, blast all luck, and would have to be careful. The werewolf would be watching his every move now. Not that he was worried, not yet. The day he couldn't outfox a Gryffindor was the day he deserved to be caught. At least it would be interesting…


	8. In Which Plots are Hatched

Chapter Eight- In Which Plans Are Hatched

Severus couldn't exactly say his time at Grimmauld was too lucrative, plot wise, but he could say at the end of his stay there that it had been interesting.

The Weasley twins were always fun and far too smart for their own good. They'd gotten him so caught up in what their devious little minds were hatching that he'd actually let them blow up a cauldron. It was highly embarrassing, even more so when he needed them to come up with the appropriate counter spell when his hair turned blue.

But speaking with them, realizing just how skilled they were at brewing their very ideas, he had another thought.

"You two always say that jokes are just as important for the war effort as fighting itself." He said during one of their breaks. Fred was fixing George's hair, which was half-singed as the thought occurred.

"Of course." Fred said, flashing the Potions Master a grin.

"Yes sir." George said, wincing at the pain. "Easy, Gred. Damn."

"Language." Severus scolded. "And while I understand that morale is important, don't you think you could be helping the effort a little more? Say you funny hats, for example." He gestured over to the box of Robin-Hood-esque hats that made a wearer's head disappear. "With a few modifications of that spell or even a few potions, you could make that a full cloak of invisibility. The Order could surely use that, despite how foolish they look. The Headmaster would appreciate the looks as well as the functionality."

The two boys sniggered at his last comment, but he could see the gleam of interest in their eyes. "And thinking beyond the Order, I believe a few of your inventions could interest the Ministry itself very easily. I would consider it, boys. But if you're going to be playing beyond the basic little pranks, I want to start seeing fully worked out Arithmatics _before _you begin." He added.

The two boys blushed, as their latest misstep had indeed occurred during one of their 'cheats' when the Arithmancy was taking too long. "Yes sir." They mumbled as one.

And just like that, they were off. He knew the two boys well, knew he could count on them, perhaps more so than their own mother did. After all, Molly had never realized the genius lying under their explosions. She'd never realized their grades were only the result of uninterested minds who were busy elsewhere. She didn't know that the few OWLs they had passed were just the ones necessary to carry on with enough knowledge to continue their pranks. Potions, Arithmancy, Charms- all very hard tests to pass. The twins had done it easily.

His week had gone a lot smoother after that. He had conscripted them to help him brew a few standard potions, mainly for usage in the Hospital Wing, and had rewarded them by allowing them to help him brew a few Master-level potions, such as the Lion-Heart Potion, which helped the drinker's bravery. They were more than apt at the potions, letting them all have a little fun.

Because other than that, the two boys had been hunched over parchment, scribbling out all the ideas their devilish minds created. They had even pulled Lupin down, as Severus was leaving a week later, to ask him about the logistics behind that blasted Map that the Marauders had used.

***

Likewise he had been vastly amused at watching Nymphadora and Hermione bond over his week. Neither woman was overtly female, though Tonks liked to pretend she was in order to hide the genius behind the pink hair, and so their bonding had no premise whatsoever behind it.

It had been interesting to see, as neither female had the same problems with their femininity. Hermione hid her body, wanting others to see her mind first, while Nymphadora relished in her body- and indeed, the other bodies she could create- whilst still wanting to be treated as one of the boys.

Both secretly found the other's wish, which they themselves lived, to be a little foolish. Hermione was indeed one of the boys and was often frustrated that the boys didn't treat her any different. Tonks, on the other hand, didn't see why Hermione was so prudish about her body, knowing the vast ways that a pretty body could make one's life easier.

And so, they were both careful around the other, not wanting to cause any bad feelings between the two.

He let their careful game go until one day when he couldn't take it any longer. He was in the kitchen, making himself a sandwich as they came in, carrying on their conversation from the other room.

"I'm not saying that S.P.E.W. wouldn't have worked." Nymphadora was protesting. She pulled out a bottle of cooled butterbeer and took a sip as Hermione began building herself a sandwich. "I'm just saying, it would have had a chance if you had…dressed it up a little."

"It doesn't need dressed up, Tonks!" Hermione protested, her fingers nimbly assembling her sandwich. Severus had finished as she began and stepped back, quietly eating his sandwich as he listened. He'd finally finished his calculations the night before and had yet to sleep, so he thought he would amuse himself first. "All I need is for people to sit down a minute and listen."

"Exactly!" Tonks jumped on the girl's words with relish. "And if you had…" She shrugged, "Say, unbuttoned the top few buttons of your uniform, all the boys would have been there. They would have listened, Mione."

"No they wouldn't have!" Hermione said hotly. "They would have- would have _lusted_! Not my goal. S.P.E.W. _will _work, because it is a sound idea, based on integrity!"

Tonks was too polite to tell Hermione she was dreaming, but a sleep-deprived Severus had no such compunctions. "Oh, give it up, Granger." He said, thoroughly disgusted. "I know Gryffindors are supposed to be ridiculously idealistic, but now your naïveté is too much for even a Hufflepuff to accept," he said, gesturing at Tonks. "So you know you've gone too far. If you want that ridiculous message of yours to get out there, numbers count. I'd suggest you follow her suggestions. Who cares if the boys you bring in are only there for the flesh? You are getting support, that's what matters. Once they become immune to the flesh, they'll start listening to the message. And as your club gains members, more scholastically minded people or more well-placed patrons will deem it worth their time. You win."

Both women stared at him, in shock, and he nodded decisively. "Believe me, Granger. I have to put up with Slytherins ten months a year." He said. "If you'd just take off your robe, you'd have all the males in your Year there and then all the females, because there is no way they'd let their boys be around you without supervision."

She was young and though Severus personally felt no feelings towards the girl, even he could say that she had certainly grown into herself. She was quite the package for whatever young Romeo who swept her off her feet; the brains and the beauty. If only she realized the power she wielded, she'd be a force to reckon with.

Hmm…That had given him pause, as he realized what some young Slytherin smooth-talker such as Zabini could do if he managed to court the girl into his corner. She could do some damage all around. Maybe he'd better keep an even stricter watch on his Snakes this year. And possibly talk to Potter about keeping a close eye on the girl. And he'd definitely have to have a thorough discussion with Ms. Tonks. If she was going to unleash such a weapon into Ms. Granger's use, she'd better teach her how to keep hold of her own wants.

He'd excused himself after that, to go mull over the possibilities for the coming year, but had noticed a change in the two after that. Apparently they had some respect for him, as they had listened closely to the other's advice after that.

Granger's wardrobe had changed after that, as bright pieces that had to belong to the older girl began filtering in, and he'd even caught her harmlessly flirting with the twins a time or two.

He'd spoken to them strictly, warning them about the dangers of such a liaison, citing their younger brother and their mother, but had been assured of the innocence of the conversation.

"Our relationship with Hermione is a lot like our friendship with you." George assured the man.

"Yeah," Fred agreed. They knew he hated when they spoke in broken sentences and so always strived not to do so when in private. "She knows that she can trust us, and so she comes to us with things she can't exactly trust Harry and Ron about."

"Like?" Severus inquired, raising an eyebrow. This sounded interesting, there weren't many secrets he had hidden from Potter and he could always use more.

"Like…" George shrugged. "We knew Krum asked her to the Ball before they did."

"Mm." Fred agreed. "She came and asked us if she should say yes or not. She knew what it would be like if she said yes and we talked her through several scenarios of what could happen."

George snorted. "We also kicked his arse when he tried to go further than she wanted. He didn't manage, cause we'd taught her enough to know she should immediately Stun him and then come for us, which she did. We made sure Mr. Krum knew of his mistake."

The twins shared an evil smirk at that and Severus was so impressed he didn't even bother to ask what they'd done. "So, I have nothing to worry about?"

"Nah." Fred said, grinning again at the professor. "She does that from time to time. She wants to be what she thinks a 'regular' girl should be so much that she tries it out every once in awhile. Mum thinks of her as a daughter and so we just think of what we'd do if Ginny wanted to talk about boys."

And though there was no need whatsoever to worry about the werewolf, Severus had dutifully made sure that he too would cause no troubles for Hermione. Instead, by the end of the week, Severus was sure that if anything, he should be taking steps to protect the easy-going man from Hermione.

One thing Snape had always been able to admire about the wolf was his desire for knowledge. It still blazed in him fiercely, along with a desire to pass on said knowledge, which had come along as he grew. He had his heart's desire and more with Hermione and the girl eagerly pursued all the knowledge he had to offer. Severus had come upon them more than once, animatedly discussing some archaic spell or some concept of Charms work far beyond his own comprehension.

Not that Remus would ever deny a child knowledge, but Hermione Granger was a factor unto herself. And so the wolf grew even more abstract than usual, as he buried himself in books, searching for a contradicting fact to something the girl had come up with or evidence for a new deduction the girl offered.

Given enough time, Severus was sure the girl could exhaust the wolf. Not that he wasn't just as eager as she was, but the poor man wasn't used to all-nighters anymore. His health was never perfect, thanks to his transformations, and in just a week he was looking more ragged than usual.

So much so, that even Severus felt that something needed to be done. He made it a point to talk to the other man. "You know, Lupin, you can just tell her you need a break. Believe me, it doesn't bother her. Even the Ravenclaws she talks to knows that sometimes they just have to give up. Hermione Granger is an unstoppable force."

Lupin was in the library, yawning over a book that was so old the spine had split in two. "Oh, if it was only that she was exhausting my knowledge." The Gryffindor lamented. "But it isn't that. Severus, how can you not be fascinated by her? The leaps that her mind takes- well, maybe she isn't quite as advanced in Potions." He said, seeing where Severus might have possibly missed the girl's innate talents. "But give her time, she'll get there. Her mind thinks in ways that make no sense to mine- the connections that she draws. I can't help but wonder if it's because of her Muggle education and background or not. She doesn't just absorb the knowledge- she connects it in ways I never have before."

He yawned again, before grinning self-deprecatingly. "I just have to go back after a discussion and replay it in my mind as I try to make the same connection she does. And then I do and it makes so much more sense…" He shook his head. "She truly is the most brilliant witch of her age."

Severus knew full well what the other man was talking about, but was not about to be pulled into such a conversation. "Be that as it may, Lupin, you should know better." He said, scoldingly. "You look horrible. You know you need to conserve your energy. If you keep this up, you'll wind up on bed rest. Is that what you want?"

He knew, from even their Hogwarts years, that Lupin detested being on bed rest. Though not the most active of boys, Lupin hated being sickly and confined. He was always roaming around Hogwarts, perpetually searching for 'just a bit of quiet'.

"Go to bed, Lupin." Severus advised. "If you think I'm not going to tell Dumbledore about your recent activities, you're wrong. I hope he sends Pomphrey after you."

"That's bad Quidditch there, Snape." Remus said, pouting at the knowledge that Severus would gleefully do as he said. "Fine, fine. I'll take it easier."

"See that you do."

***

Severus left Grimmauld after his week, certain that his new student would enjoy her settings, rested and ready to continue his plot. But what he couldn't have known was that his actions would inspire a larger plot.

Hermione learned the lessons he intended her to learn from the inhabitants of Grimmauld, but perhaps just a little too well. She learned more about her femininity in her time there than at any other time, thanks to Tonks and the twins. And thanks to Remus, her mind was eagerly working out complex situations.

But since the rebirth of Voldemort, her keen mind inevitably moved back to the problem at hand- how to help Harry out. And thanks to the quick twists and turns her mind had been making with Remus as well as the other lessons, including those from Severus, encouraging manipulation with a purpose, she came up with a plan. A brilliant, beautiful, oh-so-cunning plan.

Who were the main antagonists to Harry, even when he was in the safest place on earth?

The Slytherins.

Who made up the large majority (however large that would end up being…) of his future opponents?

The Slytherins.

Who made Harry doubt his abilities more than anyone else?

That's right…the Slytherins.

So if the enemy was identified, all that was needed was a way to neutralize them.

And off to the library she went.

************

Don't even ask where this came from, cuz I have no idea. Lots of introspection. Not much action, but what I think is a very important chapter. After all, Severus can't be the only schemer, now can he? I wanted to show his time at Grimmauld, but not the whole week. Only the tidbits that will definitely come into play later. Let me know if you loved it or hated it.

Thanks for reading, Minara.


	9. In Which Hermione Goes Visiting

Chapter 9: In Which Hermione Goes Out Visiting

Life fell into a comfortable routine in Grimmauld. Remus cooked the meals, carefully making sure Tonks never was alone in the kitchen and then retired to his books. Tonks went to work every day, coming home exhausted from her busy days. She would shower and then pry Hermione away from the library, where the girl practically slept, in order to spend some time with just the two of them. They would all have dinner together, the three of them along with any random Order members who dropped by. They had guests just about every night, whether it was the twins or one of the other Aurors or even Dumbledore a time or two, so after dinner they'd retreat to the den to chat.

They could never keep Hermione's interest for long, unless she would happen upon someone who was up for a lively debate, and she would inevitably retreat to the library. The adults would carry on a slightly more serious conversation and then the guests would leave.

Remus and Tonks always took a few minutes to share their observations on Hermione, each worried for the girl. She was no longer personal about very many things, burying herself in whatever studying she was doing. Severus came to visit at least twice a week for his private lessons with the girl and, amazingly enough; he seemed to be the only one who could make the girl smile.

Everyone was tense, worried for the girl.

But no one was more shocked when she disappeared than Severus.

********************

Severus was lost in his brewing when he heard, of all people, Nymphadora Tonks rushing into his lab.

"How dare you!" He exclaimed, quickly casting a charm so that the potion would not be disturbed. He remembered her brewing days and would rather have Neville Longbottom again over the Metamorphmagus. "Out!"

"Severus, Hermione's gone." Tonks ignored his words, grabbing him and pulling him out of the lab. He was so surprised, he didn't even think to fight her until she stopped just outside and began putting his wards back up.

"Auror Tonks!" He exclaimed, drawing himself up to his full height. Her meta-powers did not include height, so he towered well over her. "How dare you take down my wards?"

"Your wards are pathetic," she said, ignoring his glare as she finished with a quick swish. "No wonder Hermione stole from you in her second year."

"What!" He exclaimed.

She seemed to see her error and blushed. "Erm, never mind." She said quickly. "But Dumbledore sent me to get you. Remus and I both woke up late and it was only a few hours ago that we realized Hermione had left the house. Severus- we had the twins check the potions stores. There are all kinds of potions missing, along with most of the healing potions. She must have gone after the Death Eaters."

"That's impossible." He said, turning and heading towards the Floo. It had to be, he knew for sure the girl wasn't nearly ready to attack. "I thought you and Lupin said she was doing better?" He said accusingly to the woman as she scurried to keep up with him.

"We never said that!" She protested. "We warned you, Snape, that she wasn't dealing with her emotions. And you're the one who said there wasn't anything wrong with her actions."

"That's because there isn't." He snapped. "I know it disappoints that sad little heart of yours, but it isn't necessary for her to cry needlessly."

She glared at him, stung unreasonably by his words. He ignored her, throwing Floo powder in the fire and heading for Hogwarts.

***

Albus, Moody and Remus were deep in discussion as Severus stepped smoothly out of the fire. All discussion stopped, however, when Tonks stumbled out of the fireplace and pitched forward, taking the Potions Master down with her.

Albus moved, quicker than any old man had the right to, to his fallen comrades, quickly pulling Tonks away and hiding her behind him as Severus slowly pulled himself to full height. His ominous onyx eyes glistened with anger that Albus knew he had to diffuse quickly. "Now, Severus," he said in a slightly chiding voice. "You told me that you were sure Ms. Granger's impatience had left her."

Putting Severus on the spot usually helped diffuse a situation, as the man would never let a slight towards his person go unchallenged. Sure enough, those burning eyes turned towards Albus. "I stand by what I said." Severus said bluntly. "The girl knows its suicide, especially with as often as she's been depleting her energy lately thanks to our training. And she is not suicidal, despite what some may think," he added snidely, looking pointedly back at Tonks.

Tonks looked ever eager to hide behind the Headmaster again, but bravely raised her chin. "I never said she was suicidal. But you can't deny that ignoring one's emotions is often hazardous."

"It's kept me alive since I was eleven years old." Severus said, scowling.

The two glared at each other, neither willing to back down. Moody and Albus watched in interest, both knowing the stubborn tempers of their mentees, until finally Remus stepped forward. "We can debate about Hermione's mental status later." He said, voice neutral. "But the more pressing matter is, if Hermione isn't at Grimmauld or chasing after Death Eaters, where is she?"

The room fell silent, as they pondered the question. Severus did not make wild claims, so they knew if he said the girl hadn't gone, then she hadn't gone. But, though they'd recently spent much time in her company, they didn't know where else she could have gone.

Or did they?

"Potter." Severus finally said, voice dripping with disdain. "She's been speaking of nothing but Potter the few times she veers away from books she's read. She went after Potter."

He was able, thanks to his many years as a spy, to remember whole conversations verbatim. He could remember a half dozen where the girl had tried to subtly ask him again and again when Potter was going to be retrieved. She'd gotten a little more frustrated every time the question was put off.

He had no doubt that Privet Drive was where the young Lioness had gone.

His words made sense to the others, he realized, smirking smugly, as instead of protesting, they all turned to Albus. He was the lone voice of opposition, besides Severus, of course, not that he was ever consulted, with regards to retrieving Harry Potter early from the dreaded Dursley home.

Sure enough, Albus was already shaking his head. "I know you all think me unreasonably cruel, but the wards set up around the Dursley home are very delicate. There is a direct balance between the time young Harry stays there to the strength of those wards around the house and himself. Ms. Granger's close friendship with the boy must have allowed her to pass through the wards, but I fear an adult witch or wizard would cause the wards to fluctuate too much."

"What about Granger?" Severus asked, unconcerned for Potter. He'd invested too much time by now in Granger just to have something happen to her. Though when he got her back, she would be endlessly berated for such an idiotic action.

"We have guards outside the Dursley home most of the day." Albus said. "I'm afraid only Mundungus would have failed to report her arrival to us, but I will inform the next guard to make sure she doesn't run off and to escort her back to Grimmauld. Until then, perhaps a day together will be beneficial to both her and Mr. Potter."

Though both Remus and Tonks looked ready to protest, Severus already knew there would be no arguing with Albus. He had that stubborn glint he got in his eyes every time he was about to make Severus do something that the younger man absolutely didn't want to do. He would take that as his warning.

"I need to go, if that is all, Headmaster." Severus said, trying not to rush his words. It never did to let the Headmaster know you were on to his scheme, you were far more likely to be sucked in then. "Ms. Tonks interrupted a potion and I need to finish it quickly."

He watched closely and, sure enough, could detect a glimmer of disappointment in the evil blue eyes of his employer. He _had_ been plotting something. Well, no matter. Severus was clear now.

****************

Meanwhile in Surrey

****************

Hermione quickly made her way through the streets of the picture-perfect town, carefully watching the numbers. As Number Four came into sight, she couldn't hold back a triumphant smirk. When she realized Harry wasn't going to be released early at all, she knew she had to make sure he was alright- especially because she was so close.

She had expected no problem leaving Grimmauld Place and that had of course proved true. Navigating her way through the Muggle world was laughably easy and she'd quickly found Privet Drive. Remembering Harry's tales of the Squib who watched him, she avoided Wisteria Walk.

Now her only task was to avoid the Order guard that she knew would have been stationed somewhere around Harry's relative's house.

She knew that her location would quickly be found, but knew she'd at least get some time with Harry before they made her leave. So, really, once she made it in, she didn't expect to be able to sneak out.

Hmm…her grin grew as she noted all of the neighbours out enjoying the day. Maybe sneaking in didn't matter either- even if she walked right up to the front door, the guard couldn't just snatch her up. The neighbours would see!

She carefully crossed the street, taking care to wave to several of the neighbours before knocking boldly on the front door. She arranged her expression into a pleasant smile, patting the bag on her hip. The slight tinkling sound reassured her, as the potions she'd stolen proved to be intact. No matter the trouble she got into, Harry would be safe.

"Boy!" She heard an unpleasant feminine voice screech inside. "Door! Now!"

She waited anxiously and then released a sigh of relief as she heard her best friend's voice replying, "Yes, Aunt Petunia."

The door swung open to reveal a tired-looking Harry Potter, dressed in clothes that were so large they hung off of him in layers. "Hermione!" He exclaimed.

"Hello Harry!" She exclaimed. She reached out to hug him, only to stop short as Harry suddenly went flying and a very fat blonde boy took his place at the door. He was almost as wide as he was tall, not more than an inch taller than Hermione.

"Why, hello." He said, in what he obviously thought a very suave voice. "May I help you?"

"Yeah, you can bugger off." She said, pushing by him rudely to help Harry up. "Are you alright?" She asked, kneeling down beside her friend.

Harry shook his head, waiting until the three Hermiones in front of him merged back into the little cutie that was his best friend. "Of course." He said, waving off her hands and standing. He wobbled slightly as he stood, still a little dizzy, but still held his hand up to his head to feel the place where he'd hit his head as Dudley pushed him. Yep, sure enough, it was bleeding. "Don't worry."

"What is going on?" Before anyone could speak, Petunia Dursley made her way in to join them. "What are you doing, boy?" She asked, noting with distaste the blood on both his hand and the floor. "And who are you?"

"Hi, Mrs. Dursley!" Hermione plastered the smile back on her face and strode over to extend her hand to the vile woman. "I'm Hermione Granger. My parents are dentists in Kensington, I'm not sure if you've ever met them."

"Why, it's lovely to meet you." Petunia said, smiling as she shook the girl's hand. "Are you here to see my dear Dudley?" She asked, delighted by the polite girl. "He's such a popular boy." She cooed, reaching out to pinch her son's cheek.

"Mum!" Dudley swatted her hand, his eyes still firmly on Hermione's chest, where they'd been drawn as she had bent down to see to Harry.

"Actually, Mrs. Dursley." Hermione said, shooting a glare at Dudley. "I'm here to see Harry."

"H-Harry?" Petunia's smile faltered. "Why on Earth would you want to see him?" She asked, the disgust in her voice obvious. She suddenly made the connection and backed away from Hermione. "You're one of _them_, aren't you?" She demanded.

Hermione kept the smile on her face. "Yes, ma'am." She said, ignoring the insult. "I'm sure Professor Dumbledore sent the owl to you by now, but I'm here to work on our partner project." She lied. "As you know, because we took our OWLs last year, they weren't able to give us homework, but they did want us to get together with our partners and go through the various spells we learned this year and-"

"Yes, yes," Petunia interrupted Hermione before the girl could really get rolling on her lie. "You say Dumbledore approved this?"

"Mm-hm." Hermione said, pulling her wand out. "Would you like me to send for him?" She asked politely, ignoring Dudley as he finally pulled his eyes from her chest and began whimpering. "I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding if he didn't send an owl to you. He did of course want to respect your privacy, but it's important that we don't neglect our schoolwork."

"It's fine!" Petunia said, eyes wide. "Just put that _thing_ away. You two may go to the kitchen with your books- I'm not about to allow a girl alone with my-my dear nephew-in his room." Petunia said, suddenly realizing that Hermione knew the truth about Harry and probably about their treatment of him. "We wouldn't want anything suspect to be said about him, now would we?"

"No ma'am." Hermione said pleasantly. "Though how many windows do you have in your kitchen? Because we will have to actually perform some of the spells…?"

"He's not allowed!" Dudley blurted, hands darting to his backside. "He'll be expelled!"

She turned to him, smirking. "I'm of age." She said, twirling her wand. "If he uses my wand, it's fine."

As Hermione had known, though Petunia wanted to keep an eye on them, there was no way she'd risk them being seen. Sure enough, Petunia quickly said, "Well, in that case, why don't you two dears head on up to Dudl- erm, Harry's bedroom. But leave the door open!"

"Yes, ma'am." Hermione quickly said, grabbing Harry's hand. "C'mon Harry, let's get to work."

Through the numerous retellings by the Weasley twins of their rescue of Harry during his first summer after Hogwarts, Hermione quickly found Harry's room, which was good, as Harry had been staring in awe at Hermione since she wowed his aunt.

He continued to stare at her, so she sat on his bed, setting her bag on the floor beside her. When the image of Hermione sitting in the Dudley's second room finally penetrated Harry's mind, he blurted, "Hermione, what are you doing here?"

"I came to visit you, of course." She said, getting up and finally pulling him into a hug. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Harry awkwardly wrapped his arms around her and struggled to breath. "It's good to see you too." He said, gasping for air when she finally released him. "Did Dumbledore send you?"

She scowled, even as she pulled Harry to sit on the bed beside her. "No. He still insists you stay here until after your birthday." She said. "But I had to come see you."

"Hermione, what have you been up to?" He asked curiously. "I've been a little worried. You haven't written in quite awhile. I usually get lots of letters from you."

She looked around, avoiding Harry's eyes. "Now, I don't want you to get upset, Harry." She said. "That's part of why I came here; I wanted to make sure that you didn't overreact. It's not your fault."

Jumping up, Harry began pacing around his limited floorspace. He didn't need her to explain; he knew immediately from her words. "Your parents?" He asked, his heart crumbling as she winced. "Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry!"

"No, Harry!" She exclaimed. "This is not your fault, do you hear me?" She stepped in front of him, gripping his shirt to make him look at her. "This is Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy's fault. They killed my parents. Not you. They would have come after me and my parents even if I hadn't been friends with you, Harry." She said, anticipating his words much liked he'd known hers. They 'd known each other for so long, it was natural. "Lucius Malfoy has always hated that I did so much better than his precious Ferret."

Harry laughed, a slightly strangled laugh, at that. "That's true- you are bloody brilliant." He said, hugging her. "How are you?"

"It's tough." She admitted, laying her head on his chest. Harry so rarely initiated hugs that she treasured each one all the more. "But a lot of good has come out of it. Tonks is my guardian and we're staying at Grimmauld with Remus."

Pulling away, she grinned up at him, a vicious grin. "Harry, you won't believe what I've learned since then. Professor Snape has been teaching me wandless magic!"

"Wandless magic!" As impressed as Harry was, he suddenly noticed the black marks under both of her eyes. "No wonder you're exhausted." He said, pushing her slightly so that she was sitting again. "So…does Snape know you're here?" He asked doubtfully. "Or Tonks?"

Only by watching closely did he see the small blush that always gave Hermione's lies away. "Yes, of course!" She said, grinning. He just stared at her and she quickly looked away. "Okay, so no they might not know that I've left Grimmauld. But I was so close, I had to come see you. It's absolutely ridiculous that Dumbledore won't let us come get you."

She reached up to pull him onto the bed beside her and examined his head. She quickly found the knot that was still bleeding. "And look!" She said, pulling her hand away as he winced. "I come here only to find you injured!"

Valiantly, Harry refrained from pointing out that her arrival had caused the injury, as he feared for Dudley's safety if that were brought to her mind. He watched her reach down for her bag and pull out a healing balm.

Scooping a little of the white balm into her hand, she applied it to the wound on his head. Immediately it felt better. He could feel the skin pulling together over the small wound. "Harry, I know the first few weeks back you sneak out to either make healing potions or steal them from the hospital wing." She said, looking into her friend's deep green eyes. "I don't want you to have to wait that long, so I brought some potions for you and some food."

He took the bag as she handed it to him, rooting through it a bit. It was an extended bag, thanks to his brilliant friend's skills in Charms and had quite a bit more than 'some' food and a heck of a lot of potions. "Hermione, you haven't been brewing all of these have you?" He asked, shocked by the number.

"No." She again looked guilty and he questioned her til she broke. "Okay, so Professor Snape's been spending a lot of time at Grimmauld Place to teach me and then he stays to brew. And Fred and George show up all the time. The three of them brew together all the time. You know the twins- it's important for them to have healing potions around. This was most of their potion supply- but I'll brew more for them as soon as I get back."

Harry couldn't help it, and he suddenly burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Hermione demanded, crossing her arms petulantly. "I'll have you know this took a lot of planning!"

"Mione, you're the most brilliant girl I know!" He said cheerfully, nudging her playfully. "But it's so funny when you're like this. What is it that Ron always says? Brilliant but scary. It's always fun to see your Slytherin side come out. Hermione Granger isn't supposed to sneak out or steal!" He teased.

"Hmph." She said, shaking her head. "The things I do for you! You should be more appreciative."

"I am!" He said, grinning. "This is great; I'm so glad you came. I'm sorry you had to meet Aunt Petunia and Dudley."

Hermione giggled. "Don't worry about it. I sure won't. Anything's worth seeing you. I'm so angry Dumbledore keeps leaving you here."

Harry sighed, his joy gone as his responsibilities came to rest firmly on his shoulders again. "It's okay." Harry said. "I understand why he did it now. I really do." He said more firmly as she turned doubting eyes on him. "Hermione, he finally explained everything to me last year."

She gasped. "When he called you up to his office?"

Nodding, Harry admitted, "Yeah. I was still angry, so I didn't tell you, but I want to. When we get back to Hogwarts. I'll tell you then."

"Just me?" Her always keen ears caught his words. "Not Ron?"

"Ron…" Harry sighed, running a hand absently through his wild hair. "Mione, he's been mad at me before, but I think this one will finally drive him away from me. If you were smart, you'd leave too. I have to fight Him, Hermione. I _have_ to. It's no one else."

Hermione laughed. "Harry, I don't care what that prophecy said. We've always known that you'd have to fight him- that prophecy changes nothing. And I'll always be right there for you." She said firmly. "They killed my parents, Harry. They're going to pay for that- I'm going to _make them_ pay for it. I'm going to kill them." She finished, bluntly.

"Hermione, you shouldn't say things like that. You'd be safer-"

"No." Hermione expediently shut him up by putting her hand over his mouth. "Don't you ever say that again. I'm not some damsel in distress who is going to wait in the castle while you go fight the bad guy, Harry. They killed _my _parents. I'm an orphan too now. I'm going to kill the ones who killed my parents while you kill the one who killed your parents. We're the same."

"I don't like to see you like this." Harry said, pulling her hand away and tracing the tense marks on her face. "But okay. If that's what you want."

"It is." She said, nodding fiercely. "If you leave me behind, I'll never forgive you. I have to avenge my parents."

She grinned. "And actually, I don't think Ron's going to stick with us much longer anyways. Because I had an idea, Harry!" She exclaimed, reaching into the bag again. "I know something we can do right now, even if they won't let us in the Order."

"Really?" He asked, intrigued. "But what? We're stuck at Hogwarts."

"And that's the perfect place to be!" She exclaimed, emerging with a book.

Looking at the title, Harry couldn't hold back a smile. What else could it be, but Hogwarts, A History.

"Harry, Voldemort's base of power comes from Hogwarts." She explained, flipping furiously through the pages. Harry had the odd thought that she might actually be reading that fast when she arrived at a small bookmark. "We know that not all the Slytherins are on his side. Most are neutral, but they all get put together and then pressure each other to following him. We have to break up Slytherin!"

"Hermione!" Harry said, shocked in spite of himself. "Dumbledore said its not fair to deny them an education just because of their father's choices. I can't believe you're advocating that."

"No!" Hermione looked offended. "Harry, how could you think that. Of course, I think everyone has the right to an education. But the Sorting is the problem. A bunch of Voldemort supporters are put in with other purebloods who would mind their own business if given their ruthers, but are pushed into joining him to have any friends. And that's how we can get them!"

"But Hermione, we're already sorted." Harry said, frustrated. He knew he was missing something, but couldn't for the life of him figure out what. "It's too late. And while we can stop the new firsties, that doesn't really help," he added gently, not wanting to offend his friend.

She grinned at him, gesturing to the book. "We can change everything, Harry!" She said, pointing to a section in the text. "When the Founders first started using the Hat, they used to resort students in their Sixth year. They believed the students' main attribute might have changed as they grew up. You have to figure, at that time, they'd be married around sixteen or so. We have to get this re-implemented! Then we have to convince the Hat to put us both in Slytherin! Hopefully we'll get some of the Slytherins resorted, but if not then we'll be able to work from the inside!"

"Hermione, that's brilliant. But, they'll never believe we've changed so much." He pointed out.

"Yes they will." She said, smiling sadly. "Because there is no way Ron would ever agree to this. He's going to flip out and start spreading rumours about us. No matter what you do, I'm going to play up the rumours. You can stay in Gryffindor if you want, Harry." She added quickly. "But I'm going to try."

"No!" Harry said firmly. "Hermione, I'm with you no matter what."

"I know you've always gotten along with Ron better." Hermione said, offering him a way out. "I don't know anything about Wonky faints or whatever."

"NO!" Harry exclaimed. "Hermione, I wouldn't have made it through Fourth year without you. You thought something was wrong last year and you still came with me. I think I can follow one of your crazy schemes every once in awhile." He added, smiling.

Deep in a dark spot of her heart, she'd feared he wouldn't want to help her. She smiled broadly. "I'm sure the Headmaster will be by Grimmauld tonight to yell at me for leaving." She said. "I'm going to talk to him about it then. Will you write to him too?" She asked.

"Sure." He said. "Might as well use my fame for some good!"

"Oh, Harry, that's not what I meant!" She protested. "I just-"

Harry held up a hand to stop her. "Joking, Mione, joking." He looked at his watch. "Well, Uncle Vernon is coming home soon. I have to go get started on dinner. Maybe you should get going? You want to give everyone enough time to yell at you after all." He joked.

She shook her head. "Professor Snape is going to kill me." She confirmed. "We were just starting to sort of get along." She added, smiling sadly. "But you're always worth it Harry." She added, hugging him. "You take care of yourself." She said, as they walked downstairs. "I'll try and come back, if they ever leave me alone again."

"You don't have to." Harry said. "The Dursley's have been pretty decent this year. And now I have my birthday to look forward to."

"Decent is not enough, not nearly." Hermione said as they got to the door. "But I'll work on it. After all, if I'm breaking all these rules, what's a few more."

Harry grinned. "That's the spirit. I knew we'd get to you sooner or later."

She laughed. "You've corrupted me, Mr. Potter." She winked, suddenly leaning in close. "But wait until it's my turn!" She swiftly kissed him and then hurried out the door.

When Harry snapped out of his daze, he darted outside, but she was gone.

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Hey everyone, here's the next chapter! Sorry it's been so long, but I should be updating once or twice a week again. I'm back at college and my schedule has finally been ironed out. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you have any corrections or ideas, plz let me know. I really want to know how you liked the chapter, and the little bits of romance…Your reviews totally make my day!

Minara.


	10. In Which Shouts Are Heard

Chapter Ten- In Which Shouts are Heard

It didn't surprise Hermione in the least when she blacked out. She knew they wouldn't have wanted to risk a confrontation at Privet Drive, though she knew they would be angry. When she awoke, she was lying in her bed at Grimmauld Place. She felt surprisingly refreshed and wondered what exactly they had hit her with. When she was hit with a _Stupefy_, she usually woke up aching.

What did surprise her was when she tried to get out of her room. She was willing to take whatever punishment they gave her, but she'd never expected to be locked in.

"Oh, this will not end well," she muttered, shaking her head. "Not well at all," she added, heading back to her bed. She sat down, looking sadly at her door.

Contrary to popular belief, her biggest fear was not that of failure. Though she hated to sound like she was bragging, she knew she was smart enough not to fail anything. She stressed perhaps a bit more than necessary on tests merely because she wanted to do well and…to be honest…just to tease Harry and Ron a bit. They were so lackadaisical about their work, but when she began panicking, it finally got them to buckle down.

She was in no way stupid. She knew that the other students would use any excuse they found to torment her. Knowing some of the more vicious Slytherins as she did, she knew some of them might try to use the truth against her if they knew.

Hermione Granger being afraid of failing was funny for them, but not surprising. Everyone knew that, as well as the fact that it could never, ever happen and so nothing came of it.

The truth was not so simple. Hermione had claustrophobia. She couldn't stand being in small spaces. She liked to roam- living in a castle in Scotland was perfect for her. She was never crowded, because she could always find some place to hide away. When the Common room got too crowded, she always retreated to the library.

To go right along with claustrophobia, Hermione had a far more paralyzing fear of Cleisiophobia, or fear of being locked in enclosed places. Her parents hadn't punished her often, especially once she reached the age of seven and discovered the public library, but they had learned long ago not to send Hermione to her room and forbid her from coming out.

The first time they'd done that and she thought she'd been locked in, they discovered their daughter was a witch, as she wildly starting levitating everything in her room as well as the rooms on either side of her.

It was her dark secret. Not even Harry and Ron knew. Obviously no one else did either if they were stupid enough to do something like that. She didn't know why she was surprised exactly, as the Order of the Stupid Idiots seemed to favour locking people up. They'd locked Sirius up and then wondered why he had left at the first opportunity. Gits.

Sirius…

The thought of the man was possibly the only thing that kept her from panicking. Instead, she smirked, peering thoughtfully around the room. She would never tell anyone, but she hadn't thought Sirius was going to last much longer in this house anyways. She had never grieved for what happened; she could feel him working up to some stupid act. At least he went out doing something he could be proud of; saving his godson.

She grinned triumphantly when her eyes fell on the part of the wall that was slightly off-colour. Knowing Sirius's absolute hatred of the house and especially of the situation he had been forced into, she had begrudged him nothing. Yes, she had criticized him, heavily at times, because she feared the stupidity that Harry would be driven to if Sirius wasn't checked, but she had never held his actions against him.

Which was why, a few days before Harry showed up last summer, she'd spent a whole day helping Sirius hide several dozen bottles of Firewhiskey that Mundungus had showed up with. The Noble House of Black had hundreds of hiding places and cubbies, several specially charmed to hide their contents from Summoning Charms.

Though Molly had quickly discovered that Sirius was getting drunk from a number of sources, her charms had thus failed and Hermione had never felt the slightest bit guilty for said secret. Throughout the last year, Molly had, of course, found a few of the lesser-secretly hidden bottles, but Hermione was fairly confident that most of them remained hidden.

As she found herself in Sirius's position, she was more confidant now than ever that he'd made the right decision- being pissed most of the day was surely the only way to handle such confinement.

After darting a quick glance at the door, hoping beyond hope that someone would unlock the damn door, she eased herself off the bed and slid over the few feet to the hidden panel. She pried it out with her fingernails- an easy task once you knew where the hinge was- and peered inside.

When peering through the contents of the small cubby, she chuckled helplessly. Sure, Sirius had spent all those years in Azkaban and so his mental growth had been stunted more than a little, but somehow she couldn't imagine him growing up even if he had remained free.

"Oh, Sirius." She scolded, smiling sadly as she pulled out his stash of PlayWizard magazines, bending the covers slightly to spare her eyes. He had the magazines hidden everywhere and was willing to offer anyone a peek- even if they didn't ask.

Her attention was quickly drawn from the magazines as they fell on the two plain brown bottles set along the back of the hidden cubby. She held her breath, reaching in, and let out a small cheer as she picked them up. They were full!

Moving quickly, she tossed the magazines back in and reclosed the hiding space before retreating to her bed. If she was going to get drunk, she was going to do it right and doing it right, according to Fred and George- who had first introduced her to Firewhiskey last summer, involved falling into a nice warm bed and passing out. She'd always thought that to be a counterproductive outcome, but hey, who was she to argue with Gred and Forge?

She pulled the top off of one of the bottles and took a swig. It burned the whole way down her throat, where she imagined she could hear it sizzling in her stomach, but almost immediately she felt her anxiety ebb a little. Curious, she took another long swig and a small smile appeared on her face. Oh yes, this was working quite well.

************************************

Meanwhile, downstairs and completely unaware of the mischief the girl was getting up to, several members of the Inner Circle within the Order of the Phoenix were gathered, all of whom were glaring at Mad Eye Moody.

"Alastor, dear friend, you could have handled the situation differently." Albus summed up the arguments being lodged by his friend's angry mentee and their normally calm werewolf friend. "Hermione Granger is a sensible child. She wouldn't have caused trouble."

"Hmph." Moody, his magical eye spinning towards where the girl was confined and just as quickly back to the others, snorted. "That's your first mistake. You all keep assuming this girl has been pulled in on most of Potter's adventures and that just because she prefers to read over eat she's a good kid. I've known a few others like that. You'll learn soon. I regret nothing."

The war-hardened old man was not interested in such conversations; though it was always fun to watch Tonks on the very few occasions she chose to stand up to her mentor. That was why he liked her so much, more than an of his previous subordinates. She always kept things interesting… though to be honest he could do without the pink hair.

What he was interested in was having his fun. Some found Alastor's friendship with the brightly colored, almost-completely-openly-gay Albus Dumbledore, but those who really knew the two had no problem understanding the friendship.

Both of them had an irrepressible urge to cause mischief in other's lives. Alastor refrained from such meddlings far more often than Albus did, but then again he didn't have a whole school to play with.

But his favourite target was here and he couldn't resist. Despite what most of the Order thought, Alastor had no problems with Severus Snape. In fact, he respected the young Slytherin quite a bit. Respected his sacrifices for their cause, respected his potion making abilities and respected the drive that the young man had to keep going even though he was the epitome of fate's whipping boy.

It just wouldn't do for the young man to know such a thing. Some people, Alastor had learned over the years, needed someone to hate. Someone they could openly hate, with no explanation, that drove them to being even better, just to spite that person. They needed motivation.

Alastor was Severus's inspiration. Not that the Slytherin knew it, of course, at least not consciously. But Alastor had quickly seen that Severus needed someone he could hate before he killed one of his Gryffindor students. He couldn't hate the Dark Lord, he couldn't hate Albus (manipulative bastard he was though), and so he needed Alastor.

If Alastor's actions had been approved by Albus, especially when it managed to get the Order to ease up on the Slytherin and even come to his defense at times, all the better.

Alastor had watched the young man every bit as intensely as Albus. Actually, at times he had watched the man more than Albus had, as he had none of Albus's reservations about casting Observation Spells on the man's quarters at Hogwarts and even in his Manor.

Alastor knew Severus even better than Severus knew himself. He'd watch the man slap down every hand offered to him, again and again, refusing to open himself up to anyone. From what Alastor had gotten from Albus, this trend had been a habit of Severus's even before turning spy.

Though he would never admit it, Alastor was every bit as anxious for the young man to connect with someone else- anyone else- as Albus was. And so he was going to push. Every chance he got.

And here was a perfect chance. "Well, Snape, what about you?" He demanded gruffly, crossing his arms over his chest. "I've listened to them blather on, do you have anything to add?"

"No." Severus, leaning against the wall of the den, answered simply. "I didn't come here to berate you. I don't care if you injure the Golden Girl or not. In fact, I hope you did."

"What?" Nymphadora Tonks demanded, stopping her angry pacing around the room to glare at him.

"I do." He said, shifting slightly to face her directly. "If he injures her, she'll simply add him to her shit-list. I can only hope that I'll be around when she goes after him. It'll be a sight to see. And it couldn't happen to a better person." He added, adding his own glare as he turned back to Alastor.

"Well, I'm not there yet." Alastor said, ignoring the pathetic glare that had never worked on him and instead noting with regret that even in what should be a casual gesture of leaning, Severus still looked tense. "So I fail to understand why you're here."

Remus looked curiously between the two men, but offered an answer. "I was rather wondering that myself."

"I have been wasting my precious time training that girl." Severus said flatly. He always thought Moody was testing him and, for the life of him, he could never figure out why. Obviously the man hated him- what more evidence could he need to justify such hatred? "I would like to know just how far this crazy old Auror has set her back in her training."

"That's most admirable of you, Severus." Albus said before his friend could open his big mouth again. Why Alastor always thought he needed to rile Severus, Albus had never understood. Alastor was never one for the subtle and sly approach Albus used.

"Admirable," Severus repeated scornfully. "It's merely morbid curiosity. You won't let me test unproven potions on Gryffindors, but the retired Auror is. I am just curious as to what the effects will be on the chit."

"Look here, boy, you're not the only one who can brew a potion." Moody protested, struggling to hide his smirk. What was an entirely plausible reason for anyone else was still more emotion from the younger man than Alastor had heard in a long time. Curious, he decided to see what would happen next. "And," he added, allowing them to see his eye flying upwards towards the girl's room. She had worked her way steadily through the first bottle of Firewhiskey and he didn't think it would be healthy for a tiny girl like her to go after the second bottle. She was obviously well soused enough to be calm about whatever had driven her to seek out Potter, so now was the perfect time to send Severus up. "She doesn't seem to be having any issues."

"She's awake!" Tonks exclaimed, relieved. "Well, the two of us obviously need to have a talk about boundaries."

"No." Severus, Alastor couldn't be more happy to see, stepped forward to stop the woman. "I will talk with her first. She has proven time and again since her first year on that rules mean nothing to her. I want to make sure that potion hasn't damaged her any and then you may shout to your heart's content."

He didn't wait for her to answer, but quickly moved out of the room.

"Headmaster!" Tonks protested, turning to the elder man, not happy to see that both he and Alastor were grinning.

"Ah, Nymphadora." Albus said, blanching at the glare he got. He took a deep breath, however, and weathered on. "I do know that you and Hermione are going to need to talk about boundaries, but for now it is important that Severus check Ms. Granger's medical condition."

And, Albus added to himself, it is important for Severus to take this time to…er…_talk_ to the girl.

"Fine." Tonks said, crossing her arms with a huff. "But I don't understand why it matters to him so much. He sees her, what, once a week? You can't tell me he's gotten attached to her. Bloody bat…"

"Tonks," Remus said, laughing at the woman's words. "You obviously haven't been coming home for lunch often enough." He said, needing her to understand. He wasn't the mastermind that either of the older men were, but even he could see that little Hermione Granger had done the impossible and wormed her way through Severus's fortress-thick walls around his heart. "Severus has been coming over four or five days a week. He spends a few hours every day with the twins and then he drags her out of the library to work with her wandless magic."

"Really?" Tonks said, surprised at the information. And confused. "Maybe we should have made him her guardian then, sir." She offered to Albus. "I seem to be getting more and more busy at work and it's not fair for Remus to-"

Before she even finished speaking, they heard Severus shouting angrily, causing the walls to shake.

Albus smiled gently as he felt the anger pulsing off of Severus, through his magic. The young man was angry and, from Alastor's childish sniggering, he obviously knew why. He would definitely have to get the story from his friend later.

"I don't think the two of them would…survive each other." The Headmaster said delicately.

"Shouldn't we go up there?" Remus asked, as Hermione's voice shouted back. Even with his keen werewolf-enhanced hearing, he couldn't quite make out the words, but both of them were radiating anger.

"I think we should give a moment." Albus said, jumping slightly as something shattered against a wall, breaking. "Lemon drops anyone?" He asked brightly, pulling out the bag he carried everywhere.

*******************************

Severus didn't know what to think as he hurried towards Hermione's room. He wanted at least a few minutes alone to properly chastise her. He hadn't started coming over and increasing her lessons just for her to go off and do some stupid stunt like this. She would be chastised and he'd be damned if she did anything as stupid as this ever again. Perhaps if he could check her wild impulses, she would then be inclined to check Potter's idiotic impulses.

Though he wasn't going to hold his breath for either of those to happen.

Severus had taken the liberty of locking the door to the Gryffindor girl's room as he was not taking the chance of her running off again. He was also slightly afraid, as the potion Moody had slipped the girl was bright blue, which could have only happened with a rather large infusion of fluxweed, which was known for causing sleepwalking in large amounts.

The last thing they needed was for some hidden magical creature or spell to get a hold of the girl while she wasn't awake.

So yes, he was expecting her to more than a little angry, as he knew the girl had never liked being confined, whether by a regular syllabus for classes or pesky rules that kept her from the most interesting books. Being locked up so that she couldn't get into the Black library would probably be the best punishment they would find for the girl.

She wouldn't be happy, but he could take a few of her barbed comments. He'd heard much worse.

He was expecting some truly awful words to come out of the girl's mouth. He had not been expecting the girl to be lying halfway on and halfway off her bed, hauling a liter-bottle of Firewhiskey to her lips while cuddling an empty bottle of Firewhiskey to her side.

"P'rfessor Snape!" The girl's slightly slurred words stopped him in his tracks. "How're you today?"

"Ms. Granger." He honest to Merlin didn't know what to say.

"That's me!" She assured the man frozen in her doorway, giggling. "How could you forget me?" She asked, pouting suddenly. "I should be your best student," she added, Draco Malfoy's gloating face appearing in her inebriated mind. "Stupid Slytherin."

Though her comment was directed at the blonde-haired boy that continually menaced her and her friends, her words galvanized Snape into action. He was well aware of what many of his students thought of him, but he'd be damned if he let them say it to his face.

He strode over to her in a few long, confident steps and grabbed the whiskey-filled bottle out of the girl's hands. "What is the meaning of this, Granger?" He demanded. "As if it weren't bad enough you sneak out of the house to go gallivanting off to Potter's, you decide to cement the stupidity of your actions with this!" His voice had steadily gotten louder and he was shouting as he waved the bottle in her face.

Unfortunately, such inspirational words were lost on Hermione as the bottle swung around and became five separate bottles, leading her to wonder why on earth Snape would be using magic at a time like this.

When the words did sink in, however, her ire was immediately raised. "I went to visit for a very important reason!" She stated, glaring up at the man. "It wasn't foolish- it needed to be done. It's not my fault, so don't YELL AT ME!" She had no problem shouting back at the man.

"Oh?" He sneered at her disdainfully. "Then please, enlighten me. To whom should I place the blame? Surely you aren't going to blame Potter? You've been taking the blame for him since your first year. I know you haven't wised up since."

"Don't talk about Harry like that." She said, automatically defending her friend. "Wait," another thought hit her, causing her eyes to widen. "You knew about first year?"

He rolled his eyes. "Legimens." He said, pointing to himself. "You all know that now, though admittedly you didn't first year."

"Well, it was still a good lie." Hermione said stubbornly. "Professor McGonagall believed us, so hah!"

"I wouldn't count on that." Severus said, rolling his eyes. He wouldn't, mainly because he'd been the one to take great pleasure in pointing the truth out to McGonagall. The three had been projecting their guilt so heavily, he hadn't even needed to look. "Now," he said, shaking himself from his thoughts. "That is not the point. You are not old enough for Firewhiskey." He said, brandishing the bottle. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I would very much like my bottle back." She said, smiling up hopefully at him. "I found it. Finders keepers, Professor." Her whiskey-fogged mind was beginning to clear, as she was lacking the necessary alcohol to continue on in her bliss, but she was now sober enough to be horrified by the words coming out of her mouth. Not quite sober enough to stop the words though; oh no, she was far from that point.

"I don't think so." He said, pulling the bottle slightly further back so she couldn't take it.

"But it's mine!" She protested. "You're just jealous because you don't have any-"

He stopped her blathering by eliminating the problem. With a quick flick of his wrist, the bottle smashed into the wall behind him. "There, now no one has a bottle!"

"You horrid man!" She gasped, staring mournfully at the bottle. "You're so mean."

He looked disdainfully at her, not deigning to reply to such a stupid comment and she sighed, pulling herself up to a sitting position. "Fine." She said, sighing heavily. "I am almost seventeen. Fred and George introduced me to Firewhiskey long ago- that's how more than a few of us made it through fifth year with Umbitch. Oops- that's a secret!" She exclaimed, clapping a hand over her mouth. "I meant Umbitch- erm, Umbridge." She amended, snickering. "And hell, considering the lot of you left us be legally tortured, I have no regrets," she added, raising her chin stubbornly.

If he lived to be two hundred years old, Severus decided, he would never understand children. Though it amused him that the children had developed the same name for Umbridge as McGonagall had- that lady wasn't nearly as prim and proper as she tried to portray-he had actually made it through last year without being accused of torturing students, so he had no idea why Umbridge was being accused of torture.

"Ms. Granger, giving detentions is not torture for students." He said lazily. "It's torture for the professors forced to give up their time. Potter deserved those detentions, I'm sure. He was warned to keep his mouth shut."

"Yes." She said, suddenly bitter. "That's what you all say. Head down, mouth shut. It doesn't matter that your hand is bleeding so bad it won't stop, it doesn't matter that your relatives beat you for fun. Just be quiet Potter. Out of sight until we haul you out for the sacrificial slaughter before the Dark Lord kills us all." She mocked. "Hermione can fix it for you. She'll find essence of murlap, she'll encourage you to follow the rules. Blah, blah, blah."

She waved a hand through the air. "I've heard it all before. You're obviously not going to come up with anything else that is even more than slightly original, so if you would just yell and leave, I would appreciate it." She said, feigning politeness. "I was wrong, blah, blah. Go. And hurry up, please, as I'm going to have to find more whiskey."

She looked at him expectantly, but he couldn't bring himself to yell now. Instead, his mind was working through everything she said. Yes, she was drunk, but none of her words had sounded like lies. They had sounded like the frustrated rantings of a girl who was far too close to the edge for his liking. She'd almost sounded like Black…in the last few months before he went running off to the Ministry.

"Granger," he said, as calmly as possible. "I have no doubt you can get your hands on more Firewhiskey." He wasn't the only one who had stumbled on some of the Firewhiskey Black had stashed around the house if the girl had found some. "But I would be careful if I were you. You know how Black was- do you really want to risk alcoholism passing through bloodlines?"

"Eh." She shrugged, lying back down. "I'm actually thinking that he had the…the right of it." She said. "You have to do something to drive away the demons. I'm being locked up like he is. My best friend is in imminent danger of dying on an almost daily basis. My friend doesn't even have a place to hide, like the Potter's did. Harry has to live with his torturers!" She added, laughing. "Isn't that stupid? But no one cares. He's not a real person, after all, he's just the Boy-Who…"

She trailed off, snoring slightly as she passed out, leaving a very befuddled man behind.

**********

Hey guys, here's chapter ten! I hope you liked it. I had to add in Mad eye's POV, which I found that I liked very much. I hope you enjoyed it. After all, who doesn't love Severus? As for the argument, I know you were probably hoping for more of a fight, but I needed it to move like this. It wasn't so much about him yelling, fun though that is, but for him to become more of a mentor to her. And if anyone is offended by Hermione getting drunk, I'm sorry, but we all know there is no way she'd tell Sev all those truths if she was sober. And I needed him to know those things to move the story along. So, plz review and tell me if you thought I accomplished my goals!


	11. In Which View Points are Challenged

Chapter Eleven- In Which Views are Challenged

It was a much more subdued Severus Snape who returned to the den where the others were waiting. Moody and Albus were sitting side by side in two armchairs, whispering like school-girls, while Tonks and Lupin sat on the loveseat opposite of them, sipping tea and watching the two elder men with amused expressions.

They all looked up as Severus came in, immediately worried. "Severus!" Albus exclaimed, leaping to his feet and hurrying over to the young man he still thought of as a boy faster than any of the others thought he could move. "Are you alright? Is Ms. Granger alright?" He added doubtfully.

Severus, though always pale, looked deathly white now, more so than they had ever seen him. "Of course I'm fine." He snapped, brushing the headmaster's hands off of his robes.

"We heard a smashing sound, boy." Alastor pointed out, glaring at Severus. "And you say I'm a danger to the girl."

"You were the one who knew she was up there downing Firewhiskey as if it were water." Severus said, ignoring Tonks's gasp of surprise. "Speaking of which, the girl is up there passed out. I'm going downstairs to hide all of the Sober-Up potions and Hangover-Be-Gone and then I'm leaving. I've had enough of all of you."

"Now, Severus, are you sure that's-" Albus trailed off with a sigh as Severus turned and stalked away. "Well," he said, turning back to the others. "I'm sure the two of them had a most illuminating conversation. I suppose we shall have to wait for morning to speak with Ms. Granger."

"If she was really drunk, I better head over to Diagon Alley and buy her a Hangover-Be-Gone. If I know that evil git, he's really taken them all." Tonks said.

"You're going to help her?" Lupin asked in surprise. "You don't think that's reinforcing the wrong lesson?" He asked doubtfully.

"Ah, leave the girl be." Alastor said, taking a sip from his flask. "A nip of whiskey never hurt no one." He said, smirking. The girl had certainly enjoyed herself for as long as she'd lasted, he'd noticed. She wasn't nearly as much as a light weight as he'd expected. Obviously hanging out with all the boys she was constantly surrounded with had some benefits.

"Right you are, Alastor." Albus said, chuckling heartily as his friend offered the flask to him. He waved his friend's favorite whiskey away, pulling out a purple velvet bag. "Lemon drop?" He shot back, pulling one of the delicious yellow candies out for himself.

"No one wants those foul things, Albus." Alastor informed him, wrinkling what was left of his nose. "C'mon, let's go see that brother of yours about some whiskey. We'll make him pull out the good stuff."

Alastor quickly Flooed away, as the idea grew even more appealing to him. "Well, I shall see the two of you tomorrow." Albus said. "Though I doubt it will be very early if Abe and Alastor really get going." He added, shaking his head, before he Apparated away.

"The two of them are odd." Tonks reflected, not for the first time. "Odd, odd men." She added, rolling her eyes fondly. They were both as dear to her as grandfathers.

"C'mon, Tonks." Remus said, ignoring the truth of her words. He was still caught up in her earlier words. "You don't think she should pay for her actions at all?"

Tonks smiled at the man, not angered at his criticism as she could see the worry in his kind eyes. "No, I don't." She said, shaking her head enough to bounce her bright hair about her head. "Remus, we all know I'm not made to be a guardian, but I can be a great big sister for her. It's not like Hermione really needs a guardian anyways. She's mature enough to make up her mind about things. Whatever her and Harry talked about today- or Merlin knows, whatever she saw those blasted Muggles do today- she felt that drinking the images away would help. I'm not going to begrudge her that. Everyone needs to escape reality every once in a while. Even teens. Especially teens who are in the middle of a war," she added, a little sourly.

"Yes, but Tonks, with all the things she's holding back right now, that could quickly become an excuse for her to be drinking all the time. Believe me; it's all too easy to get lost in the bottle." Lupin said, his eyes taking on that horribly sad look he got every time he thought of Sirius.

"Oh, Remus," Tonks moved over far enough to wrap her arm around him securely. "Hermione is not Sirius. Sirius had years of memories that he had to get rid of. Horrors beyond anything we can imagine. Hermione is going to have a hard time of it, to be sure. But she has the will to live. That girl's too stubborn for anything less." She added, winking playfully.

Remus grinned at her words. "I suppose that's true." He admitted, biting his lip. "But I don't like it Tonks."

"We-ll," she said, drawing the word out playfully. "Maybe there's a little selfishness in it for me too. When I scold her, I want her to be concentrating on my words, not trying to keep her head from splitting in half." She said, laughing. "Believe me, Remus, I have lots of experience. I was the original little hooligan before I became an Auror. Mum used to try and do that to me, hide the potions so I wouldn't want to drink anymore. All it did was make me sneak around more, so that I could get the potions and drink in peace. I don't want Hermione to start lying to me- I want her to trust me."

"That's true." He said, still a little doubtful. "If she's already breaking rules, her not trusting you will do nothing to help that."

"Well," Tonks grinned mischievously. "We never told her that she couldn't go visit Harry. She just never went before because she was never close enough to do so."

Remus frowned. "Tonks." He said, shaking his head as she burst into laughter. "That's not funny. She knows it's not safe to leave this house."

"Aw, c'mon, Remus." Tonks protested. "We know there are no Death Eaters wondering about the Muggle world. The girl has lived there her whole life. She couldn't have been safer."

"It's still risky." He said stubbornly. "You know that, Tonks."

Seeing that he wasn't going to change his mind, Tonks gave up. "You're right, Remus." She said, for in her experience there was nothing a man loved hearing more. Sure enough, he perked up slightly, his frown lessening. "I am going to talk to her. And I'm sure being scolded by- oh what was it she said? That's right- the greatest Defense teacher they ever had, would be a great punishment."

She almost lost her composure as the tall but graceful man actually blushed. "I don't think I have that high an estimation in her books." He muttered, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"That's what she told me." Tonks said cheerfully. "We do have some time to chat and that's what she always said. If she was a Slytherin, I think she'd be plotting ways to get you back. As it is, I think that might be on her mind anyways."

He grinned, remembering the spitfire of a third year the girl had been. "If there was ever a Muggle-born that deserved to be in Slytherin, it was that girl." He admitted. "She has ambitions that surpass just about every adult Slytherin I've ever met. Then again, Sirius and I always speculated the Hat was too scared to put her in Slytherin. Can you imagine the damage she might have done?"

Tonks nodded enthusiastically. "She'd sort the junior Death Eaters right out and then probably unite the others under her to take over the world." She laughed.

"She could probably do it." Remus agreed. "If they didn't think about her blood, they'd probably all be chasing after her."

"Oh Merlin." Tonks grinned at the thought. "And then you know Harry and Ron wouldn't exactly give her up with a fight. She could start her own war."

Her words stirred a connection for Remus and he joined her in laughter. "Oh dear Merlin." He said, shaking his head. "She'd be Helen of Troy. Helen of Troy's daughter was also named Hermione. It's like history is repeating itself."

He laughed again, but this time Tonks could only shake her head at him. "Snape calls her a know-it-all just about every time he sees her." The woman reflected. "I bet he called you that all the time when you two were in school together."

Remus grinned. "You have no idea."

*****

Severus retreated immediately to his study once he returned home to Prince Manor, going at once for his own whiskey. The girl had frightened him out of his mind and then had the gall to get drunk so he couldn't even properly yell at her. The nerve.

He took a shot and then retreated to his chair. He didn't take the bottle, though it was tempting. He wanted dearly to follow the girl's example and get rip-roaring drunk, but he needed to think.

He'd never seen Granger as out of control as he had today. Never. And the things she'd said…

She would never had said them if she was sober. Obviously they couldn't let her get drunk even on occasion, for who knew what secrets would fall out then.

But since she had spilled out Potter's secrets, he was free to ruminate on them in peace. And as soon as they stopped horrifying him, he would.

"A bleeding hand." He murmured to himself, frowning. "Why would his hand be bleeding so bad that Granger had to find Essence of Murlap? And what's that have to do with Umbridge? And his relatives beat him?"

Though the first part confused him, he had far more clues for the second part, thanks to those disastrous Occlumency lessons. A dog chasing the boy up a tree, his uncle's bellowing. Hell, just the fact that he was so scrawny and underfed while his cousin was wider than he was tall. And those odd visions of Potter surrounded by darkness. Severus had never been able to figure those visions out. Even in the graveyard with the Dark Lord, Potter hadn't been surrounded by darkness.

He had reported said findings to Dumbledore, who had informed him of the less-than-ideal family circumstances Harry Potter found himself in. Relatives who didn't want you to be a wizard were always tough to live with, Severus knew from personal experience. But, like Tobias Snape, because they had never hit Harry, it was the best solution.

At least… Severus abruptly sat up as another thought hit him. At least, he'd never seen Potter getting hit. He got quite a few memories from the boy, just not those ones.

He frowned as he ran through the possibilities. He'd never seen such memories. Which meant…what? It either meant that Granger was exaggerating, which was highly unlikely when she was her usual self and even more unlikely considering she was drunk when she'd given the information, or it meant…that Potter was smarter than he looked.

"That idiot!" He hissed, abruptly standing and heading back to his alcohol. Such a thought deserved another drink, he decided as he furiously took another shot. The boy knew Occlumency, enough to bury his worst memories. Obviously since Severus had seen the memories he had, the boy didn't have enough control to hide all such memories.

Or there were so many, he couldn't possibly hide them all.

Severus scowled as he sorted through his thoughts. He didn't like any of the conclusions he'd drawn about Potter, but he kept coming back to one irredeemable fact: Granger would not have lied. Not about something so serious.

Why had they never found out before though? Despite Dumbledore's Chess Master attitude towards all of his little pawns, he would never let a student be abused. Hell, even if Dumbledore wouldn't listen to the boy, he needed only to go to Minerva. Minerva wouldn't even need evidence; she'd never take the risk that one of her little Lions were being hurt if she could do something about it.

Severus snorted. The boy didn't even have to go to Minerva, as Severus knew she had a frightening classroom appearance herself, he'd known that from his own school days. But one word to Pomona and there would be hell to pay from everyone from Dumbledore to the Muggles. An angry Puff was a dangerous Puff, Severus had always believed that.

And while he doubted Ravenclaw had many such cases, he was sure Filius could be counted on as well.

But Dumbledore would dismiss anything he said, especially as he had no proof. He could possibly get the other three Heads together- their unanimous decision was enough to overrule the Headmaster's decision regarding one of their students in usual matters.

Not that Potter had ever been a usual matter.

Severus sighed, reluctantly heading over to his fireplace. At the very least, he could go talk to Minerva. She'd help him decide and if the boy needed anything, she could quickly go get Poppy.

Poppy would have enough healing potions on hand to-

He stopped dead in his tracks, his arm half extended to grab Floo Powder.

Granger had taken all of the healing potions. Ms. Tonks had told him that even before they knew where Granger had gone. She took the healing potions in the basement lab because she had expected Potter to be injured. She'd taken all of the healing potions because she thought Potter would need them for the rest of the summer, as he was stuck there until at least his birthday.

Oh dear Merlin. She would never have taken so many if she hadn't seen bruises before. She wouldn't think to.

His mind raced into action. Minerva had clearance to the Muggle home Potter was residing in just as Dumbledore did as she was his Deputy, in case there was an emergency. Severus still had clearance, merely because he had been welcomed at the house when he and Lily were children.

He smirked. Time to go visiting.

"Minerva McGonagall's office!" He shouted, grabbing powder and throwing it into his fireplace. "Minerva, we need to talk…"

*******

Okay guys, now we're really getting to the action. Tell me what you think is going to happen next- I'm extremely curious as to where you guys think this is going. I dropped a big hint in this chapter, but it may not make sense til quite a bit later…


	12. In Which the Dursley's are Paid a Visit

Chapter Twelve- In Which The Dursley's Are Paid A Visit 

As Filius Flitwick and Pomona Sprout walked into Minerva McGonagall's office, they saw two very rare sights. The first was not too uncommon: the sight of Minerva pacing around her office, angrily waving her arms. Every once in a while, she would devolve simply into hissing, but her profane-filled speech would once again fill the air.

The other sight was so rare they seen it only a handful of times. Severus Snape was watching Minerva pace, fighting a smile the whole time. He had on his usual smirk, but it kept edging up into a full-blown smile!

"What is going on?" Pomona asked gently, looking from Severus to Minerva. She would have thought Severus had angered Minnie, but he didn't seem to fear for his life at the moment, so that couldn't have been it.

The kind Hufflepuff Head was instantly taken aback, as Severus's face fell completely blank as he saw her. Had she offended him? She couldn't remember anything she might have done, but then again it was easy to offend Severus sometimes. "Severus, are you alright?"

"Yes," he said, unable to stop himself from taking a step back. An angry Minerva might be funny. An angry Pomona was even funnier. But he saw nothing funny about having two angry women in the same room. "Erm, please, come in. The four of us need to talk."

"What has the Headmaster done now?" Filius asked with a smile. He was closer to the Headmaster in age than any of the others, but would never support the Headmaster over the other heads. He'd been watching for decades as little by little the veneer of Albus Dumbledore crashed before their very eyes. As he listened to Minerva ("told him of the dangers…ought to wrap that scraggly beard around his neck!"), he couldn't help but see that a rather large chunk of wool had been removed from Minerva's eyes today. And if Severus was here as well…well then, things could get interesting very quickly, just what the ever-curious Ravenclaw Head approved of.

Severus smirked at the other man's question. "Well, the answer would be a lot longer if we let Minerva answer, so let's just say that Dumbledore has taken on one responsibility too many." His smirk fell as he went on, "I have reason to believe that Dumbledore's placement of Harry Potter with his Muggle relatives was a very bad idea."

He quickly explained the situation, emphasizing Hermione Granger's words. He knew all too well just how respected the girl was among the other teachers. Filius loved her because she was so gifted in Charms and always so eager to demonstrate. Pomona loved her not necessarily because she was gifted with plants, though she aced all of her tests, but because the girl was so willing to spend her time helping Neville Longbottom, whom Pomona loved as her own son.

His fears, his hopes, were instantly realized as Pomona's always-bright face darkened. "How dare they?" She hissed. "Children are treasures to be cherished and nourished- how DARE THEY?" She shouted. She was clutching her wand and as her anger grew yellow sparks began emitting from the tip.

"Easy, Pomona." Filius cautioned, suddenly looking every one of his ninety-odd years. Severus had never seen the other man look so grim. "We will take care of this." He assured her, before turning to Minerva, who had finally stopped her own rant in order to appreciate Pomona's. "You do agree, don't you?" He asked Dumbledore's firmest supporter. "We cannot very well leave Potter there."

Minerva closed her eyes, but firmly shook her head. "No, we cannot. I warned him! I warned him all those years ago. I knew that no child should be left with those Muggles, but I couldn't stand up to Albus." She concluded sadly. "Not then. But…" She frowned, her eyes growing dark. "I won't make that mistake again. Albus is not always right- he has greatly erred here."

She seemed to visibly collect herself, drawing herself to full height, which was emposing even though Severus towered almost a whole head over her. Admittedly, her hat did make up the distance and more… "Well, what are we waiting for?" She asked sharply. "I've been meaning to stop in to see Ms. Granger and I think Mr. Potter will make a great visiting gift, don't you?"

Without waiting for an answer, she headed for the door. There was no need to wait, as the other three quickly hurried after her.

***

The four of them quickly made their way to Hogsmeade and then stopped off behind the Hog's Head, out of sight from anyone else.

"Alright," Minerva said, apparently placing herself in charge of the group. "We'll bring Potter back here if necessary, to see Poppy. Otherwise we'll be go straight to Ms. Tonks and Ms. Granger."

"We're going to have to take each of you with Side-Along." Severus informed Filius and Pomona as Minerva trailed off. "The wards will accept each of us and we're allowed to carry one other magical person through them. We'll have Potter walk out of the wards on his own if he's able and if not, we'll have to leave one of you and then come back for you once we've gotten him to the infirmary."

Pomona's hand immediately shot in the air. "Oh, I'd love to stay." She said, her eyes gleaming dangerously. "After all, I've had more experience around Muggles than Filius has."

"What!" Filius protested. "That's not true!"

Everyone turned to look doubtfully at him. With his small nature, as with many of those with any goblin-descent, it was almost impossible for them to go among Muggles and not look extremely out of place.

"Oh, fine." He huffed, cheeks reddening under their stares. "Pomona can stay." He said, sighing mournfully.

Severus clapped the older man on the shoulder, feeling slightly sorry for him. "Take heart," he urged the other man. "She can do a lot more damage."

Studying his counterpart's face, Filius nodded. "Yes, she probably could." He added wryly. "Ah well. Hadn't we better get going?"

A quick wave of Minerva's wand revealed the time, at which she nodded. "Oh, yes." She said. "We'll get to see first-hand how those Muggles treat Potter. They all ought to be sitting down to dinner right about now."

"Let us go then." Severus said, holding his hand out to Pomona. It would be far easier for Minerva to carry Filius, not that he wished to make something out of the situation and embarrass the elder woman. He clasped her hand and turned sharply.

There was a pulling sensation behind his stomach and then he suddenly reappeared in the backyard of the Squib the Headmaster had seen fit to place nearby the Muggle home Potter had been placed in. Dumbledore had made sure the backyard had a suitably large hedge wall, allowing for easy Apparating in, not that he'd ever taken advantage of the feature.

Long practice allowed Severus to land gracefully and he even reached a hand out to steady Pomona, earning him a small smile which he graciously received by abruptly turning to where Minerva and Filius had popped in at.

As he'd suspected, Minerva began hauling Filius towards the front of the house at once. "Hold, Minerva." He drawled, rolling his eyes. "We wouldn't want to alert the Muggles," he said, gesturing to her clothes. "As you are the Transfiguration Mistress here…"

He trailed off meaningfully and was answered with a short nod as the embarrassed woman drew out her wand. With a few elaborate waves, their robes all were quickly Transfigured into more appropriate outfits.

Excepting, of course, for her own clothing.

"Do you not intend to fix your own clothing?" Pomona pointed out kindly to the other woman. Though the elaborate but plainly decorated robes the Scottish woman wore looked almost like a dress, there was enough differences that it would likely draw notice.

Minerva simply grinned. "Muggle clothing has never held any appeal for me." She answered, before she disappeared with a flourish, turning into her cat-Animagus form. She leapt into Filius's startled arms and turned deliberately to Severus.

"Well, I suppose we are ready then." Severus said, offering his arm to Pomona. "Just this way."

As the evening was fast approaching, they were not encountered by any Muggles, which was beneficial, as Severus had no energy left to pay them any mind. He was focusing instead on the wards. He could feel them, pressing around both himself and Pomona, and watched Filius. He knew the Charms Master could more than likely feel the enchantments even better than he himself could and that the other man was just itching to whip out his wand and start testing.

He only hoped Filius could control his urge. The last thing they needed to do was alert the Headmaster to their intentions. He was going to find out soon enough anyways.

When they reached the door to Number Four, Pomona rang the doorbell. A moment later, they were greeted with the sight of a thin, tired Harry Potter, who was holding his glasses to his face with one hand as one stem seemed to be broken. "Professors!" He exclaimed, his arm falling in surprise. Immediately his glasses began slipping.

"Seem to have a problem there, Potter." Filius said, grinning. He flicked his wand and the frame instantly repaired itself. "There we go. May we come in?"

"Thanks, Professor!" Harry said, grinning. "But, um," they all watched as his eyes darted back in the house. "What are you doing here? Aunt Petunia won't be happy about this."

As if on cue, a loud unpleasant voice demanded, "Well, who is it, boy? Tell them we're eating, to come back later!"

Harry winced. "Yes, Uncle Vernon." He called back. "I've told them." He turned back. "Professors, I'm going to get in trouble-"

"Oh, you most certainly won't." Minerva said as she turned back into a human. "We've come to make sure you were alright, Mr. Potter. How are you?"

"Um, I'm fine, ma'am." He said, stepping backwards as she briskly walked in. The other professors quickly followed her lead, leaving Harry with no other option but to close the door. "Did Hermione tell you I wasn't?"

"Potter, your friend told us many things that I'm sure in her right frame of mind she wouldn't have and we felt it was best to investigate such claims, considering the source." Severus explained impatiently. "Though I still don't know what exactly caused Ms. Granger to decide to drink herself into a stupor, we felt her words had some merit."

Harry's eyes widened in horror. Oh no, Hermione had no censor when she was drunk. She knew entirely too much to be without her usual filter; he knew that after seeing his friend inebriated just one time. "What did she tell you?" He asked, hanging his head.

"Oh, I think you know." Minerva said, lips tightening. "I think it's time to go talk to your relatives." She said, spitting out the last word. "And inform them just how we fill about child abusers."

Harry watched in horror as the two female professors at once took off for the kitchen where the Dursley's were still loudly eating. He looked hesitantly at the two professors he was still left with.

"Are you injured, Potter?" Severus asked, waving his wand over the boy as he wouldn't trust the boy's word anyways. He saw a few bruises light up, but nothing more was revealed.

"I'm fine, Professor." Harry said, blushing. "Hermione brought me potions- I've taken care of everything. Mostly," he added, shooting his relatives a glare. "I'll take care of the rest tonight. I'm fine-honest."

"I will take your word for it now." Severus said. "Come along, we wouldn't want to lose you." He ordered, gesturing Filius to follow them into the kitchen.

As he'd expected, the kitchen was in chaos when they got there. When they entered the room, the Silencing Charm was revealed, allowing them to hear the frightened shrieking of Petunia Dursely and the pathetic whining of the beast of a cousin that Potter had. The uncle was gone, but as a large walrus was flopping on top of the table, which had collapsed under the weight, Severus was pretty sure he knew where the man had gone.

"You!" Petunia focused on the three latest arrivals, causing Severus's attention to swing to her. She hadn't improved any with age, she was still too bony to be pretty and had a face that broguth to mind the childhood warnings his mother gave him about making faces. Hers had most definitely gotten stuck in a style he was used to. She'd often looked at him and Lily like that, as if she had smelled something unpleasant.

He thought she was going to start yelling at him, again something that was a usual thing when they were in each other's company, when she snatched her nephew up from Severus's surprised fingers.

"This is all your fault, you little freak!" She exclaimed, grabbing Potter by the hair and shoving him towards the walrus. "Turn him back, at once!"

"Even if Potter could use magic during the summer, he would definitely not be able to undo Minerva's Transfigurations." Pomona said mockingly. "But as you can't keep your hands to yourself, I'll help you."

She waved her wand towards the window. Instantly the plants outside had their growth accelerated, causing them to shoot throw the window, shattering it. The long limbs of the plants would around Petunia, causing the woman to fall to the ground as she lost her balance. "And just to really add some green to this wretched room," Pomona waved her wand again, beginning to mutter under her breath. There was some vague rumbling under their feet and vines began pouring through the cracks of the linoleum.

"Oh dear me," Filius said, pulling out his own wand as the vines kept expanding. "Let's go make sure we don't disturb the neighbors." He said, slipping out the back door.

"My kitchen!" Petunia shrieked, causing Pomona to grin. She'd read the Muggle right, and had known exactly where to strike, she was proud to see. "You can't do this to us!" Petunia protested. "We're normal- not like you freaks. The boy is lying- whatever him and that little slut of his from yesterday said."

"The only freaks I see in this room are you and your abominable family." Severus said absently as his gaze turned towards the cousin.

The boy was collapsed in the empty corner of the room, one hand clenched on his large behind while the other was waving around a large drumstick from their meal, which he couldn't even eat as he was crying so hard. He was babbling too, "Not a tail, not a tail, oh please god, not again", which made no sense to Severus but Potter obviously knew what it meant as he was watching the other boy with a reluctant grin on his face.

"Well, Petunia," Severus said, shooting the woman an amused smirk. "You created a baby whale as your offspring, defying the very laws of nature. How is that not freakish."

"Don't you talk about my Duddikins. You stay away from him, Snape." She hissed, turning adoring eyes on her child. "Don't worry, Duddy. We'll go to their precious Ministry and turn them all in. Yes, I know you have a Ministry," she hissed at Severus. "What do you think of that?"

"If Muggles had any rights at all in our system, I still wouldn't be worried." Severus said, not even thinking about the words. "However, we do have some quite stringent laws regarding child abuse, which Muggles can be accused of."

He grinned as Petunia's eyes widened in horror. "We're taking Potter with us. We can protect him in other ways. If you choose to disregard the safety these wards offered you, that is no longer our problem."

"Quite right," Filius said, as he reentered the home. "I've fixed the wards up. Mr. Potter, are you willing to leave here with us now?"

"Do I…have to come back?" Harry asked, his eyes wide as he took in his relatives.

"Never again." Filius promised with a smile.

"Then yes!" Harry exclaimed. "I never want to come here again!"

"Ah, just what we needed." Filius said, waving his wand again. Severus couldn't tell what exactly had happened, but he felt the press of the wards lessen after a moment. They were easily breakable now and would no doubt weaken more as soon as Potter was off the grounds.

"What- what are you going to do to us?" Petunia asked, frightened.

"Nothing." Minerva said, eyeing her work with satisfaction. "We've done all we're doing. Potter, go retrieve your trunk. We're leaving."

"Well, what about us?" Petunia whined as her nephew immediately took off towards his room with Filius following him.

"What about you?" Minerva asked, stepping over the woman as they all prepared to leave. "I told you, we've done all we intend to. I hope you and your pets have a pleasant life. What's left of it."

"You'll- you'll get in trouble for this. You won't get away with this!" Petunia said, beginning to cry. "You're- you're horrible people."

"Didn't you hear Severus, you stupid woman?" Pomona demanded, rolling her eyes. "It's against the law to abuse children. It is not against the law to punish child abusers. And a child's Head of House, which Minerva is, is more than able to act in the child's best interests."

"But Dumbledore-"

"Don't you finish that sentence." Minerva snapped. "I know damned well that Dumbledore didn't tell you to starve that little boy, of proper food, of love, of common decency. Don't you even say it." She warned, brandishing her wand menacingly.

"Let's go." Filius said as he and Harry reappeared. His face was tight with anger and Harry's eyes looked so wide that it seemed as if they were seconds from popping out. "The wards have shifted again. Dumbledore will have felt that last shift."

"What's wrong, Filius?" Pomona asked, as they began walking out. With the weakened wards, they didn't need to hold on to each other, but they all circled around Potter for protection anyways.

"I don't want to talk about it." Filius said. "They really are vile people." He said. He knew the second they were beyond the wards. "I'm going back to Hogsmeade. I need to think. You take Potter on to Ms. Granger. He's mostly fine; he definitely doesn't need Poppy's loving care."

He gave them all a short nod and popped out of sight.

The three remaining teachers all turned to Harry for an explanation. "There are, um, a few locks on my door." He said, shrugging awkwardly. "The Professor didn't like that."

"I fail to see what's wrong with locks." Minerva said, frowning in confusion.

Severus quickly made the connection that the pureblood woman wouldn't have. "Locks on the outside of the door?" He asked keenly.

The boy's head fell, without answering. He cleared his throat and muttered, "He wasn't too happy about the cat flap either."

When they forced the explanation for the flap out of the boy, both Pomona and Minerva looked ready to go back. "We have to get going!" Severus argued after an intense discussion. "Dumbledore will be here any minute!"

"On the contrary, my dear boy." Albus Dumbledore's voice said, as he stepped out of Arabella Figg's back door. "I've been waiting for the four of you."

***

Dun, Dun, Dun… Lol, that just popped into my head. I think if I were DUmbles, I'd be heading for the hills right now, not confronting them. Sorry if this wasn't quite as good as it should have been, but I never really know how these scenes should go. They're the good guys, so it's not like they can kill the Dursley's. I'm not too clever about magical punishments, but I always thought the best thing to do is take down the wards and leave them to the wrath of the Death Eaters. Which, you know, I did. As always, tell me what you guys think- I love to hear from you. In the next few chapters, we ought to wrap up the summer and then they'll be headed back to Hogwarts. Tell me what you think Hermione's plotting, if you have any ideas. I'm curious as to what you guys think is going on.

Oh, and I can't remember who, but someone asked me, so I shall do a plug in general. If you like my writing, I am doing another story at the same time as this one. It's also a WIP, but I update them at the same time each week, so if you'd like, head over there next. Some of you do already, but the rest of you are welcome to ;D

**Minara**


	13. In Which Dumbledore Gets His

Chapter 13- In Which Dumbledore Gets His

If Albus Dumbledore thought his tone would be at all intimidating, he was severely underestimating his opponents.

While his appearance might have caught Harry off guard, causing the boy to pale dramatically, not one Head of House hesitated.

Filius and Severus swiftly drew their wands, though neither of them fired a shot.

Pomona and Minerva took slightly different approaches.

"Albus Dumbledore, I have never been more ashamed of you in my life!" Minerva hissed. She alone stepped towards him, as not even Pomona felt brave enough to do that. "How dare you!" She shouted, reaching out and slapping him across the face as hard as she could.

The force of her blow was enough to send the unsuspecting Dumbledore flying to the ground. "Make a small boy suffer for fourteen years- after I warned you! Specifically!"

Pomona stepped forward as Minerva drew her wand, staying the other woman's arm with a gentle touch. "Now let's not be hasty," Pomona said, her voice calm though the others could all see the anger in her eyes. "Surely he has some explanation."

Severus and Filius shared a look, rolling their eyes at the Hufflepuffian sentiment, only to be surprised a moment later, as Pomona lazily waved her hand and vines circled Dumbledore, trapping him on his side flat on the ground. She turned around with what Severus would have called a smirk if she were a Slytherin (for, after all, he dared not think that Hufflepuffs were even capable of such a Slytherin facial expression- the horror!), years of cohabitation in the same castle allowing her to know exactly what the two men were thinking.

Satisfied she'd gotten her point across, she turned back to Dumbledore. "You do have an explanation, don't you?" She asked, a warning in her voice. He had _better_ have an explanation, not that any of the others thought that she would believe any given explanation. It might keep him from too much pain though…

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Even tied down, staring up at his subordinates as if he were a child, Albus managed to portray an air of mild curiosity and feigned innocence. "I believe you to have me at a disadvantage. I felt the wards weakening around Privet Drive, but not any of the wards regarding mal-intent. The protections are completely gone. And now I find my lieutenants holding me at wand point. The Dursley family is in grave danger. If the Death Eaters find them-"

"Then it will be just what those horrid people deserve." Filius spoke up, though he didn't move from his position at Harry's side opposite of Severus. Both men knew just how wily Dumbledore was and they didn't want to underestimate him for a second. "It couldn't happen to better people."

"I'm aware that Harry has had some difficulties," Albus said, somehow managing to sound both sad at the news and yet mildly chastising. "But he is most protected there. I can offer him nothing better."

Severus rolled his eyes. "What the bloody hell are you talking, Albus?" He demanded. "Between you and the centuries of enchantments placed on the castle, I hardly think Potter would have been in danger there over the years."

Now, Harry felt he had to protest. He'd been silent so far, amazed to see dissension between the teachers, as well as his Headmaster bound on the ground, but he felt they were taking things a little too far. "Professor, you have to be joking!" He protested, turning to Severus. "I can't imagine being at Hogwarts any longer than I have been. I've almost been killed there for five years straight!"

"No, Potter." Severus was just itching for a fight, still having much rage in his system thanks to not being able to properly berate Hermione and was glad to turn on young Harry. "Hogwarts would have been perfectly safe if you had been taught to obey your elders and were not given every reason to disregard the very ones you should respect. You may note any of your class mates, with the exception of your own friends. Most of them make it through the years with no problems whatsoever. They stick to normal troubles if they feel that they must- they don't go searching for trouble. Had you been raised in a normal environment at all, you'd probably have a larger sense of self-preservation. Now, shut up."

He turned immediately back to the Headmaster. "You have done some depraved things, Albus. Don't think I didn't know what you were up to when I was in school- it readily became apparent that you were trying to get me to go to the Death Eaters as you continually favoured the Marauders. And I went, and I came back, just the way you knew I would. You picked me out as your patsy when I was eleven years old. But that's still not as bad as this. He was a child- barely a toddler and you threw him away. I can't exactly figure out why, but considering how easy it was over the years to sway him to do your bidding, I'd imagine that had something to do with it." Severus added, sneering at his boss.

"Those days are over, Albus." Filius said in a quiet but firm voice. "I cast a Disintegrating Ward. Potter stated out loud that he didn't want to be here anymore and all the wards bound by his living there started to weaken immediately. You couldn't put those wards back up if you were Merlin himself."

Here, Minerva could wait no more. She was the quintessential Gryffindor in a lot of ways, and she had Godric's own impatient temper. "Not that we would ever let you attempt such a thing again. This is the last straw, Albus. I will not let you continue to toy with the lives of our students. We will no longer allow it." She added, gesturing meaningfully to their group. "And you know we have the power to enforce it."

Curiously enough, the four founders had run their school for a long time with no headmaster whatsoever. They were each Head of their own house and made administrative decisions based on a mutual decision. After Salazar had left, the newly-formed Ministry had put pressure on Godric, eventually forcing him into the Headmaster position. But for once, the man showed some of the cunning of his best friend. Realizing just how dangerous the Headmaster could be with unchecked powers, he had made sure, along with the help of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, that the four Heads could overrule the Headmaster if they ever felt he was slipping from his ordained duties.

"No!" Dumbledore knew Hogwarts' lore as well as anyone and knew instantly what she meant. Looking around, ignoring Harry's bewildered expression, he saw four resolute faces. "Minerva, you don't understand. He had to remain at that home. I don't know what I shall do now." He added reproachfully.

"I know exactly what we shall do. We'll take Potter to the _actual_ safe house we prepared. If it's enough to keep the Ministry from going after Sirius Black, it surely should be enough to keep one small boy safe." Minerva said stiffly.

"Minerva, he's safer here than anywhere else. Lily's protection-"

"Be quiet, Headmaster." Filius interrupted ruthlessly. "There is no more protection here. Lily would have given up anything to keep her son safe. She and I had spoken more than once of the problems she had with her sister. There is no reason that Lily would have condoned her baby boy being brought up by that horrid woman. No reason. We are simply rectifying your mistake and carrying out the wishes that we all know Lily Evans would have wanted for her son."

"Now, we've spoken long enough." Pomona interrupted. "We're talking of his safety; we need to get him back to safety. Severus, is he well enough to travel?"

Severus turned his piercing eyes on the young boy beside him. "Potter, don't even think of lying. Are you well enough to travel?"

The teen shook his head enthusiastically. "Yes, Professor! I promise."

Severus could discern no lie in the boy. "Alright." He said reluctantly. "We'll take him. I can finish treating him and if he's lying, then he can spend the rest of the day sleeping. He may do that anyways." He added, as the boy yawned widely. "Come, Potter. I trust the three of you can make sure the Headmaster gets back to the castle safely?"

"Oh yes." Minerva said, smiling tightly. "It is time we talk about some of the recent decisions our esteemed Headmaster has made regarding our school. Good day to you, Mister Potter. Severus, I shall speak with you later."

"Thank you for all of your help," Severus said graciously, bowing slightly to the woman. "Hold tight, Potter." Severus put his hand on Harry's shoulder and abruptly turned.

*************

Returning to his godfather's house, so recently after Sirius's death, could only be made worse by being taken there by one of the men Harry hated most in the world. Luckily, he could see that Severus looked just as unhappy to be in his presence. Snape had quickly taken Harry to the kitchen, turning him over to Tonks and Remus, before departing himself, muttering something about "not wanting to miss the show".

Remus had a meal prepared for Harry, which the boy eagerly fell to eating.

"Where's Hermione?" Harry asked when his plate had been emptied twice. "I really want to talk with her."

Tonks smirked. "Your friend is upstairs, sleeping off a remarkable attempt to finish two bottles of firewhiskey." The woman informed him. "If you'd like, you can go up and talk to her. She needs woken up anyways or her sleep schedule is going to be horribly messed up."

Remus, who had gone to the sink to wash the dishes of his impromptu meal, turned back to the conversation, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I think, in all fairness, you should be rather loud about it too. It's no less than a friend deserves." He added, winking.

Though Harry could understand the sentiment behind the appeal, he quickly shook his head. "I don't think so. If you'd done that to one of your friends, what was the worst they could do to you? Hermione could obliterate me!"

He gave a quick wave and headed up the stairs.

"You know," Tonks said with a fond grin. "I can never decide if he's in love with that girl or terrified of her."

"I don't think he does either." Remus said, chuckling. "They've been like that since I knew them back in their Third Year. As often as they fight with that girl- which they do, because she is just such a complex girl- they always come back. Things are going to get complicated in the next few years with that little girl. The first boy she goes out with other than Harry is in for a rude awakening."

*******

Harry slipped into Hermione's room, only to realize that the concern wasn't necessary. Hermione was laying in bed, intensely reading a relatively small book.

"What is this?" He teased, pulling the book out of his friend's hands. "This baby book, here?" He asked. "Hermione!" He grinned as he flipped the paperback to see a girl holding a large sword. "Fantasy stories? You don't think our lives are exciting enough?"

"I like being able to read about adventures without actually being in danger, Mr. Potter." She said scoldingly, plucking the book out of his hands and marking his page. "But more importantly, what are you doing here!" She asked, flinging her arms around him. "I thought you were stuck at the Dursley's?"

Harry hugged her back, closing his eyes as her bushy hair invaded his air space, making him grin. "So did I." He said when he pulled away. "To be honest, I have no idea why I'm here. But all of a sudden all the Heads of House showed up. Professor McGonagall turned Uncle Vernon into a walrus! And Professor Flitwick took down the wards- so I can't ever go back again!" He added, smiling happily.

Hermione laughed, shaking her head. It was hard to tell which anecdote he was more excited about. "That's great, Harry." She said. But as she thought about it, her smile faded. "Harry, I might have had something to do with it." She said. "When I got back, well," she shrugged, "I needed to blow off some steam. There was some whiskey here…"

She trailed off, but Harry needed no more explanation. He knew how his friend was with whiskey. "Oh, Hermione," he said, laughing. "You're such a lightweight." He teased, poking her side.

She gently slapped his hand away and hugged him again, burying her face in his chest. "You're not angry with me?" She asked timidly.

"Never." He said, squeezing her in a hug again. "Especially as I think they already had some suspicions." He admitted, pulling away so he could look her in her eyes. She looked doubtful, so he quickly explained. "Snape was there too and he kept asking me if I was injured or not. He knew that you'd taken the potions- I think they expected to find me on my death bed."

"Oh, Harry," she moaned. "I didn't mean for them to find out. Honest!"

"Hermione, don't ever apologize for that." Harry assured her. "I know you care for me and I couldn't be happier, so no more apologizing. What are you doing hiding up here?" He asked teasingly, in an effort to redirect the conversation. "They claim you've been sleeping all day. Aren't you hungry?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Harry, just because you and Ron are ruled by your stomachs doesn't mean everyone else is." She said. "I can skip a few meals now and then."

"Now and then?" Harry laughed, laying back against her legs. "I suppose I forgot who I was talking to. You are the girl, after all, who regularly skips lunch to go to the library and occasionally supper if there's a book you just '_have _to finish'." He added in a falsetto voice.

She kicked up with her legs, not that she moved him much at all, muttering, "Shut up, don't you mock me, Harry Potter, I do not sound like that."

"I do not sound like that." He teased, continuing in his faux feminine voice.

Hermione scowled before picking up her pillow and hitting him on the head with it. "Shut up." She said. "They only ever said breakfast was the most important meal of the day. I always eat breakfast!" She defended.

"Oh, Hermione." Harry pulled the pillow away and grinned up at her. "Only you would think that a valid excuse. So, you aren't hungry and just decided to stay up here?" He asked, raising an eyebrow curiously. "Or would you possibly be avoiding Tonks and Moony, who actually looks displeased for the first time since I met him?"

"Oh, Harry." Hermione winced. "Tonks has been great about being my guardian. If I go downstairs and she starts scolding me, I won't know what to do. It's going to be bad enough when Professor Snape really gets ahold of me. I broke all kinds of rules to get to you. I mean, I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I had to but…I broke so many rules!" She added with a moan, falling back against her pillows dramatically.

"Aw, it's not as bad as that." Harry said, patting her arm comfortingly. "I, for one, couldn't be more proud of you. You know, Ron and I have put a lot of effort into corrupting you these last five years," he teased. "It's good to see all of our hard work paying off."

She pouted, crossing her arms. "They're all going to yell at me." She said sadly.

"Hermione, I don't care." Harry said reassuringly. "And you shouldn't either. I couldn't be more happy- you got me out of the Dursley's house, Hermione. Forever! That sort of thing should never be wrong. I want to… to…" He shrugged, waving his arms around. "To give you a reward or marry you or something. Do you want to be Mrs. Potter?" He offered jokingly, looking at her beseechingly.

"As honored as I am," she said, rolling her eyes. "I think I'll pass. I guess you're right. Something good did come out of it."

"Of course I'm right." He scoffed, puffing up his chest importantly, ala Percy. "When are you going to learn- I'm always right!"

"Ha." Hermione mocked. "You're always something. So, Harry James, was this all your subtle way of telling me thank you?" She asked.

"Of course!" Harry said, grinning boyishly. "Hermione- I haven't told you the best part yet!" He twisted his body so he was sitting tailor-style on the bed. "When we were leaving, the Headmaster showed up. Professor McGonagall and Sprout attacked him! They said they weren't going to let him run things they way he has in the past. Can they do that?" He asked abruptly.

He could see her practically twitching, as if yearning to turn to her beloved books. But still, she nodded slowly after thinking about it. "Yes, they can." There is a policy that was put in place back in the Founder's time that the four Heads of House can overrule the Headmaster if they feel he's not representing Hogwarts correctly. How fascinating."

As suddenly as the thought occurred to her, another followed, making her frown. "But, Harry, this isn't really a good idea." She said, biting her lip. "This could set back our plans. If the headmaster has no control, he can't implement our idea!"

"I don't think this would really change anything." He said, thinking. "And if it does- the teachers all like you. They all give you extra work and stuff when you ask- except Snape. But now you said he was training you, right? I mean, that's got to count for something- the Headmaster isn't even making him!"

"We'll see." Hermione said, slightly dubious. "Professor Snape will likely be by tomorrow anyways, so perhaps I'll ask him then."

Plans made, the two fell to simpler subjects. Only when Harry started yawning did Hermione send him to his room. If she had learned nothing else in her time under Snape's private tutelage, she had learned one thing: the man held grudges.

And so, she wasn't surprised when she was woken up at daybreak the next morning by the tall man. "Up, Granger. Now!" He growled.

Sighing, she got up to start a new day.

* * *

All I can do is apologize. It's the worst excuse in the world, but Real Life caught up with me. I'm in my finals week now and then it's home to internet-less Mom's house, so I can't even guess when the next update will be. But hang in- I promise we're going to get back on a role soon. Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter, I'm not really thrilled with it. What do you think about the Heads of Houses taking over- do you think they can really wrestle control from Dumbles? And what about Harry and Sev- do you guys want to see them getting along or fighting jealously for their own time with Mione? Let me know!


	14. In Which Grimmauld Wakes Up

Chapter Fourteen- In Which Grimmauld Wakes Up

When Harry awoke, at a late, leisurely 10 AM, he made his way first to Hermione's room and then down to breakfast. Such had been his habit at school as well, though there he couldn't go into her room. There was never a question of whether or not Hermione was up, for she was always awake well before he was. No, no, the question instead was where the morning had taken her. All too often the answer was to the library. If she wasn't there, a long search may or may not have been in order.

Luckily, in such a small house, compared of course to Hogwarts, he was able to quickly get his answer.

"Well, cub," Remus said, while heaping more eggs on Harry's half-empty plate in a fashion that reminded Harry strongly of Molly Weasley at her best (or worst, depending on Harry's mood for the day), "If she isn't in the library, I'd say Severus has gotten a hold of her. He really wasn't too happy with her sneaking out- I wouldn't be surprised to hear he's making her pay for it now."

"What's it to Snape?" Harry asked, curious as much as he was indignant. "It's none of his business. She's not a Slytherin. Why's he tutoring her?"

"Harry, did you know that Hermione could do wandless magic?" Remus asked as he retook his seat opposite of the boy.

Harry dug into his breakfast with relish, even as he nodded. "Sure." He said, nodding. "She Summons things all the time. But even if I hadn't seen that, I wouldn't have doubted it. She's Hermione- Hermione can do almost anything."

Remus grinned at the tone of the teen, admiring and more than a little rueful. "Hermione is a very talented witch. But even so, do you have any idea how rare wandless magic is?" He asked.

"No," Harry admitted with a shrug. "I mean, I've seen Snape do it and Dumbledore too. McGonagall and Sirius with the Animagus transformation, but other than that, I guess I've never seen anyone else do it." He added, after giving it a quick thought. "Can you do it?"

"I can Summon things." Remus admitted, Summoning the syrup over to him with a quick wave of his hand. "But mostly because it's quite necessary after a transformation. Wandless is quite a hard trick- only some of the most powerful witches and wizards manage it. And only then, it's usually after a lot of work. Many manage small tricks, such as summoning or Accio, but few have the skills of even Severus's level. I know you don't get along with him, but he really is quite powerful. Not to mention the years he spent training under Dumbledore."

Harry took a drink of his juice, wondering how to make his point without offence. "That still doesn't explain why he's helping Hermione. I hate to claim to be an expert on him about anything, but he really doesn't like us. Me, especially, but he picks on Hermione and Ron a lot, mostly because they're my friends, I think." He admitted. "Even if she does have wandless, I can see him criticizing her and then going about his business."

The werewolf smiled ruefully. How like James Harry sounded at the moment. "Severus is…" Remus took a moment to state his words correctly. "At heart, Severus is a very honorable man, Harry. He dislikes Gryffindors, immensely, probably more so now that he teaches them than when he was only a student. But he's always been one to take his position seriously. He was a prefect in our later years, and he was as conscientious about the job as I wasn't." Remus admitted with a blush. "I've only observed him one year at his job, but he seems just as keen on doing his job as a professor as well. Wandless magic is dangerous. If he left Hermione to her own devices, she might end up putting herself in danger. And on top of that, if I were to speculate, Hermione is already in more than enough danger." He added thoughtfully.

"In danger?" Harry asked. "What do you mean? The War?"

Remus nodded. "With the war heating up, you're all in danger, of course. But Hermione holds a special place in the war. She's your best friend, as Mr. Weasley is, but she is a Muggle-born, where Ron does have the added protection of being a Pureblood. Often, the Death Eaters didn't just kill everyone." He said, his eyes going distant as he flashed back to the first war. "Often they'd send out messengers, offering safe passage out for purebloods, blood-traitors though they were. Muggle-borns weren't given such an opportunity. And of course, she is female and females are always more disadvantaged than males. No matter what Severus feels for all of you personally, he's not about to deny her training that might one day very well save her life."

"Oh." Harry's fork fell to his plate as he thought over Remus's words. "So, once more, I've put her in danger, merely because I'm friends with her."

"No," Remus hastened to assure the boy. "Don't think that way, Harry. Your friends will be valuable allies to you. Even without your friendship, she'd still be in considerable danger. She's top of a class that contains more than a few notable pureblood scions. Hermione is, if you'll excuse the dramatics of saying so, the very epitome of the problems with the Death Eater rhetoric. She has more power than many of her pureblooded peers and despite having no magical relatives, she is not at a loss in the magical world at all. She'll have her place in this war before it's all over, the same as you. Don't deny her the training she needs, Harry, just because you don't like the instructor."

"But it's Snape!" Harry protested.

Remus took a sip of his coffee, grinning. "Harry, I don't claim to be an expert, but I've never seen Hermione back down from any hard work. Nor have I ever heard her utter a word against him. It doesn't seem as if the tutoring is doing her any hardships."

That finally evoked a smile from Harry. "You wouldn't either." He said, thinking fondly of his friend. "Actually, this is probably her ideal summer. She'd never say so, but I think she enjoys Snape's teaching more than anyone else. He never accepts less than one's absolute best."

"That's very accurate." Remus said. He grinned mischievously. "And of course, none of us can deny the appeal of a more mellow Severus. Working his annoyance out every morning on a willing pupil is quite conducive to a few almost-pleasant conversations with him, I will admit."

Harry laughed at the man's words. "I guess he can't be angry all the time." He said. "So, what time does Hermione usually finish?" He asked curiously. "Has she eaten breakfast yet? Because she does have a tendency to skip."

At that, Remus's smile dimmed. "Well, actually, Severus usually retrieves her from breakfast. But I know for a fact he came in early this morning. I told you I believe he's working out his anger. But I'm sure she could use a break by now. Why don't you go retrieve them both- they're in the basement."

***********

"Again, Granger." Severus Snape's harsh voice penetrated the darkness she was surrounded in before Hermione forced her eyes open again. "Get up. Try again."

"Professor!" She tried to protest and wasn't even embarrassed when it came out sounding more like a growl than a plea. "That one really hurt!"

"Heal it then." He said impatiently, watching in silence as the girl examined her arm, which had a long cut sliced in it. The cut had thick, dark blood welling up at it's surface; a repurcussion of being slammed against the unforgiving stone wall during their last sparring session. "And take your position."

Hermione blew her hair back impatiently, as yet another strand pulled free of her ponytail. "Professor, I'm sorry I left the house! But I had to help Harry- haven't you ever broken the rules to help a friend?" She asked, even as she began trying to concentrate enough to heal her latest wound. She'd definitely need a few potions after today's session.

"Not when doing so would have put my very life in danger." Severus shot back impatiently. He watched the girl as frustration grew on her face. She was getting tired. No, she was not only getting tired, but was in fact far past that point. He was pushing her, far faster than he should have been, but with his unique position in the war, he was well aware of just how little time they had before things really began to heat up. "I hope you don't think that I'm doing this for fun. I am taking time out of my already ridiculously busy schedule to help you and you are once again frittering away your time by running off on whatever scheme you and Potter have thought up lately."

Ah, that had done it. Her wound healed, leaving nary a spot of blood, as indignation poured over her face. "We aren't scheming!" She protested automtically. And then, of course, her innate Gryffindor side kicked in, confirming Severus's suspicions. Granger was not a stupid girl, she always had more than one motive for her actions. "Well, we had a reason for it! It's not as if we do this stuff for fun!"

"Sometimes, I have my doubts." Severus replied acerbically. "What do I have in store for me this year, hm?" He asked, gesturing her to stand again. "How about a little heads up so I can try to stop your disaster in the making before it gets too out of hand."

"We came up with an interesting idea." Hermione defended, brushing her hair out of her face once more before giving up and taking her hair down. The professor would just have to wait a minute. But in the mean time, as he seemed to be winding down, maybe it would be a good idea to feel him out and see how much support they'd need to gather for their plan to succeed without the Headmaster. "Professor, have you ever read 'Hogwarts, A History'?"

As Severus knew from past mornings that she'd be fighting with the bush on top of her head for more than a few minutes, he leaned back against the stairs. "I have read the book, a time or two. Not with the annual readings I'm told you make of the tome. Why?" He asked idly. The girl was interesting to talk to; he couldn't help himself. He'd never understand the leaps of logic that her mind instantly put together. He pitied Potter and Weasley, their idle minds had to be at a continual loss when she really got going.

"I do enjoy the book." She said, glaring at him at the perceived slight. She got enough guff from her peers in Gryffindor Tower, she didn't need any more from him. "Mostly, I enjoy reading the older volumes, to see the changes that have occurred to Hogwarts over time."

"Yes." Severus prodded her. He could see the timidity of her words, almost physically. He could feel the build up, knew she was about to throw something on him that he'd never have thought of.

"Well, I couldn't help but notice some practices that have been dissolved over the years weren't properly explained. And, in addition," Hermione added as she triumphed over her hair and finished off her ponytail. "I couldn't help but think of one that would be quite applicable to our situation today."

Suddenly, Severus thought he knew what she was talking about. "Granger," he said, half-laughing in spite of himself. "We are not reinstating the Apprentice program just because you're bored with regular school-work. The student population is nowhere near as large as it used to be- there is no need for apprentices anymore. I would suggest you turn your efforts elsewhere. Get a social life or hobby of some sorts."

Hermione couldn't hold back a laugh. "Oh, no, Professor," she said, quickly stifling her amusement when he glared at her. "I would love that- but understand the reason for that. What I was thinking-"

What the chit had thought up this time was lost to Severus as the stairs he was leaning on suddenly thumped as someone began bouncing energetically down them. He stepped away, turning to glare up at one Harry James Potter.

"Potter!" He snapped. "Are you incapable of walking down the stairs like a young gentleman?"

"Um, sorry sir." Harry said, blushing. "Er- Remus sent me to get Hermione. He said she hasn't eaten yet."

"Obviously not, as she needs to be training." Severus said, rolling his eyes. "I believe she can miss a few meals and still be the annoying know-it-all we all know so fondly." He added sarcastically.

Harry looked angry at the insult, but Hermione only grinned. "Please, Professor!" She exclaimed, looking up at the dark man hopefully. "I'm really, really sorry. I promise I won't go to Privet Drive again!"

At that, Harry had to suddenly look down to hide his grin and Hermione could swear she saw Snape fighting one of his own.

"Oh, very well." Severus said, rolling his eyes, even as he fought off own his amusement. "Since Potter is obviously only going to stand around and snigger like an idiot, we will get nothing further accomplished. But I expect you to do much better tomorrow, Granger. Today's actions were quite disappointing."

"Yes sir!" She promised, nodding energetically, far too used to his acerbic comments to be bothered by them anymore.

He rolled his eyes again. She was getting more and more insolent. "Off with you then. And make sure to take Potter with you. Tell Lupin I need to speak with him before he disappears off to wherever he goes during the day."

Almost before he had finished speaking the two children were gone. He allowed himself a small chuckle at their antics as he took out his wand. With a few flicks, he replaced their training area with the usual potions laboratory that he and the Weasley twins so often frequented.

He was just looking over the potions the two boys had on low boil, and wondering how on Earth the one had changed to bubble-gum pink when yesterday it had shown a silver sheen, when Remus Lupin came down.

Severus looked the other man over, reflecting idly that the man hadn't changed since he was eleven years old. He still had a habit of dressing in- of all colors- brown. Neat brown courodroy pants and a brown sweater, both neatly patched. Though Lupin's hair had begun to grey, mostly due to his condition, he had never lost the too-thin look of his teen years. He had never quite looked like an adult, whether it was a lack of food or not, and all of a sudden he made Severus feel quite old. They were, after all, the same age, but Severus looked every bit his age, if not more. He was thin, but well-built. He could hold his own in Muggle fight, should the need arise. Lupin didn't look strong enough to survive a fight, let alone a transformation into a wolf every month.

"Is something wrong, Severus?" Remus asked, confused, as he looked down at himself. He saw no lingering food stains or discolorations due to a prank, no reason for his childhood enemy to be staring at him so intently.

"No." Severus said, shaking his head to snap himself back to the present. Looks or no, neither man had a good life expectancy, especially if the war heated up soon. "Though I am loath to do so, I must endeavour on you to watch out for those blasted twins. I have not had time to replace the potions Ms. Granger took and I do not know how many of them Potter used up. I won't have them experimenting if they don't have the potions necessary to fix themselves up on hand. We all know it is merely a matter of time before their next explosion; I won't have them caught unprepared."

Remus couldn't hold back a smile, utterly confusing the other man. "You really do care about them." Remus said, by way of explanation. "It's always surprising to see in action. A few years ago, you would have been doing everything you could have to make those explosions happen. You wouldn't be training that young girl. You wouldn't be trying so hard to keep James and Lily's son safe. You're a good man, Severus." He concluded, shaking his head. "In spite of what we all thought. You proved us wrong. I just don't understand why you're trying to hide that from everyone."

Severus froze for a minute, until he recovered enough to snarl at Lupin, "Don't be ridiculous, Lupin, you have no idea who I am or what kind of man I am. Just because you and your idiotic friends singled me out for persecution doesn't me you knew anything about me. And I'll thank you not to make idiotic statements know about things you'll never understand. If I don't take those hooligans in hand, who will?" He demanded. "Surely not you. Same with Ms. Granger. Albus has no time to train her. She's going to end up in thick of things far too soon. Should I send her out to be slaughtered? Don't you think I have more than enough innocent blood on my hands already?"

Lupin- so infuriatingly different than his friends- merely smiled. Any of the others would have been decent enough to get angry and retaliate. Instead, Lupin spoke calmly, "You can keep trying, Severus, but you can't fool me. Just like you can't fool Albus or Minerva or Molly or Arthur. We know you, whether you want to admit it or not. You are a good man. Why don't you call her Hermione?" He asked.

"What?" Severus was trying to think up a suitable taunt to get Lupin away from him, but found himself confused by the question. "Why in Merlin's name would I address her so informally?"

"Severus, you spend more time with the girl than her guardian does!" Remus laughed, taking a seat on the bottom step. "You know the girl quite well. You're tutoring her; it's summer time…" He shrugged. "Take your pick. Ease up, Severus. We all know there's nothing you can do that will drive her away- that she would take any sort of lessons offered. And yours are quite adequately taking her mind off of her loss. You should be proud of yourself."

Severus sighed loudly. "I wish you would stop assuming so much, Lupin, I really do. Granger has nothing better to do, that is why she takes these lessons. Now that Potter has arrived, I'll begin cutting them back. I have better things to do with my time and so does she. Good day, Lupin, you may leave now. I have to check on these potions and then I'll be on my way."

Remus laughed, knowing he would infuriate the other man by doing so, but unable to help himself. "Oh, Severus. Oh, Severus." He left, chuckling.

****

Okay, guys, here's the next chapter. A few of you were confused by the Severus/Hermione mentoring bit. He is mentoring her and growing more fond of her than he wants to admit. I'm just not spending much time there as I'm trying to get through the summer and back to Hogwarts. Let me know if this cleared it up any!


	15. In Which Remus' Reading is Interrupted

Chapter 15- In Which Remus's Reading is Interrupted

Severus visited his protégée every morning, as per his usual schedule, but as he noticed she was rushing off more and more to spend time plotting with Potter- for he had no doubt that they were plotting- he realized he could spend his time elsewhere. He took full advantage of the fact, working hard with the other Heads to ensure that Hogwarts was the safe-haven it was supposed to be.

Though Hermione offered to re-brew the potions she used on her visit to Potter, Severus was not about to let a third Gryffindor into his lab. Besides he already knew, with his strict supervision of course, that he had two assistants more than willing to brew.

Therefore, the next free afternoon he could manage, after leaving Granger in Potter's less than capable arms, he Flooed to the Burrow.

"Severus!" Plump and energetic as always, Molly Weasley greeted him with a quick hug. "How are you? Is everything alright?" She added, grinning fondly as he stiffly pulled away.

"Yes, yes, all is well." He said at once, while discreetly stepping away from her. "I have come to commandeer your twins. I am going to be doing some brewing and I need assistants."

"Oh." She said, hesitating. "Erm, Professor, I don't know that Fred and George would be the best assistants," she said, twisting her hands anxiously in her apron. "I mean, Merlin knows, I spend most of my time trying to keep them _from_ brewing."

"Mm." Snape nodded, kindly refraining from telling her his opinion of that decision. "Nevertheless, I need them. If you would call them." His tone left no doubt that this suggestion was to be followed at once.

She stared at him, as if waiting for the joke, but when he merely stared back, she relented. "Very well." She said after a moment. "They're out back with Ginny, degnoming the garden. You have no need for her?" She asked.

"No." Severus said, restraining himself from wincing. The female Weasley had inherited many attributes of her elder brothers, but unfortunately her brewing talents took after Ronald. If not for Luna Lovegood's continual 'experimenting', the redheaded girl would have been the worst brewer of her year. "Just the twins. Either of them would do, really, but I would never dream of splitting them up." He said mockingly. Actually, he reflected wryly, that was a lie too. He wasn't sure how well either twin could brew by himself. They were always together.

"Very well." Molly sighed, stepping over to the window. "Fred! George! Come here, now!" She shouted out.

"We didn't do it!" The two twins shouted as one as they came crashing through the door, looking panicked. "Professor!" They shouted in the next breath, seeing Snape. "How are you?"

Before Severus could open his mouth for either a greeting or a scathing retort- and to be honest, he wasn't sure which would have come out- the twins shared a glance and one of them bolted upstairs.

"What have you done now?" Molly demanded, disapproval written all over her face.

"Nothing!" The twin who stayed, George, said, smiling brightly. "Erm- we're all done in the garden. Gin went flying. What are you doing here, Professor?" He asked, turning to the slightly more pleasant face glaring at him.

Severus quickly realized what the boy was up to and barely held back a smile at their antics. "I have come to steal you and your brother away from your no doubt frivolous pastimes, but I require assistance brewing and you two are the only competent assistants I'm going to find. So go cast a Stasis spell on whatever your brother is up there trying to save and come along. Go. Now."

"Yes, sir." George nodded, taking off without even a glance at his mother. While Molly was formidable, it had only taken an angry Snape three weeks to scare them to bits. Their mother had been trying now for almost two decades.

"I was told you were spending time with Hermione lately, Severus." Molly said delicately when her son was out of sight. "May I ask why you don't have her helping you?"

Severus raised an eyebrow at the woman, amazed as always at her daring. Very few members of the Order felt brave enough, despite their Gryffindor status, to question him for any of his non-Death Eater activities. "Miss Granger," he said icily, "is sufficiently exhausted each day after our sessions. She has no magical energy to spare for brewing, even if she wasn't spending every free moment she had with Potter."

Molly stared at him, carefully watching his face, and smiled at his words, confusing him. "Ah," she said enigmatically. "I see. Well, send them back when you're done with them." She added, turning back to the stove.

He sketched an ironic bow at her, smirking at her rather obvious dismissal of him. He had no time to wonder what had amused her so, as the stampede of feet down the stairs brought his attention back to his assistants.

"Let's go." Severus snapped as the two boys looked to him for instructions. "I've wasted enough time today already."

"Yes, sir." The two boys said as one, heading immediately towards the fire. They knew that tone and had spent years learning just how dangerous it was to upset him at such times.

"Now just a minute!" Molly protested as Severus began to follow the boys. Apparently her façade of pleasantness was just that, as she sounded angry that Severus had offered her no further information. "Where exactly are you going? And when do you intend to send them home?"

Severus swung around, making her stop in her tracks as his voluminous robes brushed against her face, so high and fast had they swung. "I am taking them with me." He said, glowering at her, as all of his patience had been used up for the day. "That is all you need to know. As for when they return; when I see fit I will release them. I do believe they are both of age. They have their own shop now, Molly. You need to let them go. They're of age; I can keep them as long as I wish."

She began sputtering, too outraged to even chastise him properly and he quickly took advantage of such an oversight. He turned back, pleased to see the boys had not risked stopping, even for their mother's wrath. It was good to know that he could instill more fear in them than their own harpy of a mother. Just to be obstinate, as the boys had already traveled through without her knowledge, Severus only muttered his location before stepping through.

***

As usual, he found Lupin buried in a large, ancient-looking book as he exited the fireplace at Grimmauld Place.

"The boys have gone on downstairs." The other man said without looking up, before Severus could even speak.

"Lovely." Severus said, both pleased at the answer and at the fact that Lupin had, however fleetingly, found something that intrigued him more than bothering Severus. Those times were so rare… He wanted to quickly make his exit, but managed to stay in the other's presence long enough to issue orders, "Should Molly Floo here, do us all a favour and inform her that the twins have blown themselves up and have unluckily taken me out with them. I think it would make her happy. Under no circumstances are you to admit we are still here and alive."

Thus, without another word, he stalked out of the room, missing entirely the werewolf shaking his head as he ruthlessly suppressed the grin that arose at Severus's words.

Downstairs the boys were checking over their cauldrons, but jumped away as he came into sight. "We weren't doing anything!" They protested as if he had accused them of something.

"Well, you should be." Severus said, gesturing to the cupboard where the spare cauldrons were stored. "We've had…need for the healing potions that I previously stored for the two of you when you try to kill yourselves again. And now, I have no time to brew them again. So, I'm going to make sure you two brew them and brew them correctly. They're relatively simple potions, especially given your talent, so as long as you don't do anything stupid, I believe you will be safe even though there are currently no potions here for you."

"Oh, Professor," Fred said, rolling his eyes as he and George immediately turned to go to the cupboard. "You worry way too much. We'll be fine!"

"Yeah." George agreed, tossing two cauldrons to Fred and pulling out the same for himself. "We're perfectly capable of brewing without killing ourselves. It's insulting that you think otherwise."

Severus smirked, even as he made his own way to the cauldron cupboard. "Yes, but I sometimes wonder if you're able to brew without seriously _injuring_ yourselves. I will be here to make sure neither of you die, as your mother would never let me foget it. Get to work." He ordered, pulling out a large cauldron for himself.

And without another word, the three turned to their favourite pastime. Severus kept a careful eye on the two, as he found himself anxious despite the easiness of the potion they were brewing. They were bright boys, truly gifted at brewing, but had a bad habit of getting bored half-way through a potion and beginning to experiment.

Not having healing potions at hand when he was giving them free reign with a cauldron had the potential to be the stupidest move he'd made in a very long time. But he couldn't help himself; he had potions of his own that he was rapidly running out of time to brew.

***

To his surprise, they actually managed to complete the potions without doing anything stupid. Once their potions hit the stage where they simply needed to boil, the twins came over to watch Snape. He often let them watch him as he worked on Master-level potions, but had only let them brew a few, so they took every opportunity to watch when they could.

"So, have the two of you come up with any ideas about how to help in the war?" Severus asked, ignoring the four blues that were eagerly watching his every move.

"We talked about it." George admitted readily to their mentor. "We've been concentrating on our Invisibility hats. We took your advice."

Fred nodded enthusiastically. "We realized that your idea was a really good place to start. Harry uses his Invisibility cloak all the time; it's essential to his yearly roaming at school."

"So the Order should find it very helpful!" George concluded. "Then we're going to work on vests that repel basic spells-"

"As well as little balls that, when thrown on the ground, will emit a shadowy figure." Fred finished. "Which can then be used as a distraction or to mislead someone, whatever they need."

Severus nodded, intrigued. "That sounds interesting; I'd like to see it. I'd also like to see the Arithmantic configurations before you begin brewing or charming anything of the sort." He added, glaring at the boys meaningfully.

The two Weasleys could barely hold back pouts. "Yes, Sir." They sullenly muttered as one.

The three chatted a bit longer, about other possible ideas, though Severus's were far more practical than most of the ones thought up by the twins. When they finally had to return to their potions, Severus was satisfied in the knowledge that the twins would be too busy to try blowing themselves up on a regular basis and that the Order would all too soon be safer when they went to war.

********

Severus wasn't the one who came to visit that day, as all too soon Remus's reading was interrupted by the Headmaster himself stepping out of the fire.

"Albus!" Remus said, smiling at the man. "How are you?"

The pressure being applied to Albus by his mutinous lieutenants was clearly taking a toll if even the ever-weary werewolf was asking such a question, the Headmaster realized with a start. He forced a pleasant smile on his face. "Oh, I'm fine, just fine. I'm sorry for disturbing you, but Harry's delightful owl delivered me a message requesting my presence whenever I could spare the time. I thought I'd take the time now to speak with Harry and Ms. Granger, if that is possible." He explained.

"Sure." Remus said, still watching the tired-looking man closely. "They're in the library; Harry's on his last essay."

"Excellent." Albus said, smiling broadly. "Well, I'll not keep you from your reading any longer," he said, bowing slightly and leaving.

He quickly made his way into the library and found, to his amusement, that Ms. Granger had apparently grown bored, as she was sound asleep on the couch beside Harry, tucked into the corner of the couch while cradling a book. Harry was diligently working on his paper, Charms, if Albus was seeing the book correctly. Every few minutes, however, his work attitude was shattered, as he would look over at his sleeping friend and give a small smile.

Hate to interrupt such a cozy scene as he did, Albus was still mindful of the note that had been sent to him. Harry had explained he had something 'very important' to tell him and that it was something that he and Ms. Granger had worked out in the last few weeks.

Albus had learned, quite the hard way, that between Harry and Hermione, there was almost no puzzle that could not be solved and he found himself irresistibly interested in what the two had come up with.

Therefore, he had only the smallest of qualms of opening the door fully and entering the room.

Harry, ever diligent, immediately saw him and closed the book with a loud enough noise to jerk Ms Granger from her slumber. "Professor!" He exclaimed. He heard a small moan from beside him and winced. "Oops. Sorry, Hermione."

"Wha-?" The girl couldn't finish her question before a large yawn overtook her. "Headmaster!" Her lethargy didn't last long as she spotted their visitor. "Oh, you came!" She exclaimed, quickly sitting up and trying to smooth her hair.

"I did." Albus confirmed, smiling as the girl gave her hair up as a lost cause and stretched. "I had some free time and wished to address your letter. You have something to speak to me about?"

"Yeah," Harry confirmed, nudging Hermione. "Go on."

"Oh!" Hermione had never had much interaction with the Headmaster and was a little stunned as he turned those piercing blue eyes on her, but if she could stand up to Snape, nothing could stop her. "Professor, we were thinking. Harry's main source of enemies comes from Slytherin."

Though intrigued as to where this was going, Albus was far too fond of Severus, despite his current siding with the other Heads, to allow such slander. "Now, now, Ms. Granger, blanket statements like that are not like you. I would expect more from you; you know that a person's House affiliation has nothing to do with how they turn out." He chided gently.

To his surprise, however, the girl did not immediately squeak out an apology. Instead, she shook her head. "No, sir, in this I have to say you're wrong." She said instead. "I will agree that not all of Harry's enemies come from Slytherin, but it cannot be denied that a great deal of them do come from that house. You have to admit that- whether they're true believers or people who are pushed into it."

The girl looked ready and willing to fight through the night if she had to in order to get him to concede to her point and, to be completely honest, Albus just didn't have the strength for a verbal battle. "Alright," he said, his curiosity peaking. "You may have a point there. What do you intend to do about it though?"

As he knew would happen, her eyes lit up with anticipation. He knew her reputation well, whatever she was planning she would have it all worked out. Sure enough, it took her only a few minutes to outline her plan and then Harry chimed in with his complete approval.

"Hm." Albus rubbed his chin, reflecting on the idea, all the while berating himself for not having considered the idea. "I will admit that your idea is well thought out." He complimented the girl. "But, I have to say, I think the plan may be a bit too risky."

"What!" Hermione, who had been beaming with happiness, couldn't hold back a shriek of dismay as he spoke. "What are you talking about?" She demanded, quickly running through her plan in her mind. She could see no flaws, how dare he?

"Ms. Granger," Albus sat down beside her and gently patted her on the knee. "It's not a criticism. It's lovely that you put so much effort into it and yes, your basic principle is correct. A large majority of Slytherin House seem to get pushed into a certain position when they would choose neutrality, but it cannot be denied that there is a minority that not only believes in Voldemort's cause, but is willing to take action. I could never allow you to put yourself in such a situation. They could be dangerous; you would most certainly be in danger. I'm not saying that Muggle-borns have _never_ ended up in Slytherin, but the fact remains that Slytherin is not the safest of homes for Muggle-borns."

Hermione would have vigorously defended herself, but to her astonishment, Harry beat her to it. "Headmaster," the black-haired boy hero laughed, "I really don't think you know what you're saying. Hermione may not be the best at fighting, but all that reading she does pays off. She can use spells that none of us even know! I really don't think that should be an argument."

Hermione blushed slightly at Harry's words, but soldiered on. "Honestly, Professor, I wouldn't have made the suggestion if I felt that I couldn't handle it." She said, sensing no doubt that she had to quickly make her point before Dumbledore recovered from his surprise at Harry's vehemence. "I do know what I'm up against, but I think that I'm ready. Our work with DA this year started preparing us. The wards at Hogwarts won't them use Dark Arts on us and I'm certain that we'll have safety in numbers. Not that I don't think Harry and I would be fine on our own, but consider the main principles. We're all starting to get ambitious- we want to have good careers, we want good lives. We are starting to realize," she shared an amused glance with Harry, "that bravery is all well and good, but that rushing in can be dangerous."

Albus looked amused as well at her words, but not convinced.

"Please, Headmaster!" She bit her lip as she tried to think of how she could convince him. "We're old enough to do this! You won't let us in the Order; you're treating us like children, even though we've faced them! We have to do something to help- you can't expect us to just forget that there's a war building up all around us and concentrate on classes! My parents were murdered; I'm not just going to forget that!" She said angrily. "I have to do _something_. Let me do this!"

As the girl finished her impassioned speech, Albus recognized the look on her face. He had seen that look several times on the face of young Severus. Despite what many thought, Albus had never trapped the boy into spying. While Albus believed that spies were essential in war time, however regretful such a thought was, an unwilling spy was, in his opinion, never a smart idea. Instead, the boy- for he had been a boy, despite being in his twenties- had offered a very Slytherin deal. Albus was to look after Lily Potter and Severus would spy.

Of course, the boy wouldn't take no for an answer, even though Albus had spent hours trying to convince him otherwise. And so, Albus had gotten another spy in the Death Eater ranks.

Albus had seen that expression again on Severus only a year ago, when the Dark Lord had risen again. Though now the Slytherin could be called a man by most, he would always be a boy to Albus. So, the Headmaster had not been pleased to see that look on his face again. Nor had he been surprised to hear that Severus had returned to the Dark Lord's side to spy, in spite of Dumbledore specifically telling him not to go.

But yes, that look was present again, on yet another child he was responsible for. That obstinate, reckless, devil-may-care look that vowed that it's user had already made up his or her mind and was not going to be stopped. If Albus denied the girl her plan, she obviously already had a back-up one in mind.

It was always better to know what a student was up to, especially when they were filled with vengeance.

And so, Albus sighed. "Oh, very well, Ms. Granger." He said. "I can see that you won't be dissuaded. I shall contact the Heads and let them know. We have just over five weeks before school starts again; I believe I can get it implemented by then. But," he stood, suddenly looming over the two. "I want your solemn word that the two of you are going to be good little lions for the remainder of summer. No more sneaking out, at all. As Mr. Potter is here, I don't think that should be a problem, but I don't want the two of you deciding since Ms. Granger got lucky once you can manage again. There are dangers out there, I would hate for anything to happen to either of you."

They assured him of their sincerity in following the rules, hardly believing their good luck.

"Excellent," he said, clapping his hands. "Now, I'd best be off. Enjoy the rest of your vacations."

*****

Okay, guys, here's the next installment. I'm sorry it's taken so long. The most horrible of things has happened- I lost my zip drive! You may laugh, but that thing stored my life. I lost my outline for both of my fics and for several others. I have enough things saved not to be in trouble school-wise, but my fics definitely suffered. I did manage to piece my fics back together, though, so I should be posting regularly again.

Anyways, this chapter is speculation, on the relationship of Sev and the Headmaster. I love a good Manipulative-Dumbles fic, but at heart I think he really did love Severus. I also always had a problem with fics where Dumbledore demands Sev spy or invokes an Unbreakable Vow. After mistakenly enslaving himself once, I don't think uber-Slytherin Severus Snape would even make that mistake again. I think him making a deal with Dumbledore a whole lot more probable. Let me know your opinions, I'm always interested.

Now, a few quick questions before we wrap this one up. Think about any students in Harry and Hermione's year; who do you think would be better off moving to another House? If you can give me justification, I will see what I can do. Obviously Harry and Hermione are going to Slytherin, but anyone else is up for grabs. Also, I realize this might be a dumb question, as I've received many words of agreement in my getting rid of Ron, but does anyone want him to come back? He could stay gone, or he could come back and be his usual git-ish self. Let me know.

Minara.


	16. In Which August Flies By

Chapter 16- In Which August Flies By

The comfortable routine they had fallen into was disturbed as Harry's birthday arrived. Severus celebrated in his own way, finally allowing Hermione a day of peace so that she could spend the whole day with Harry. The rest of the Order was not so restrained.

The party was already starting when Harry and Hermione woke up.

"What was that noise?" Harry asked doubtfully as he went to collect Hermione from the library. She hadn't had the sense to take the brief reprieve she'd been offered and had instead woken up at her usual Snape-demanded time and headed straight for her original haven.

"Tonks." Hermione laughed as the sound of dishes smashing to pieces was heard, even as they made their way to the stairs. "She stayed home today, we're celebrating your birthday in style."

"Oh Merlin." Harry moaned, even though he couldn't quite keep a smile off of his face. "That didn't sound good. Hey, Moony!" He exclaimed.

"Ah, hello there, Harry. Happy birthday!" The brown-haired man said, grinning fondly at the boy. "Sixteen, huh? One more year and you'll be all grown up!" Remus absolutely could not believe that James's son was almost an adult!

"Yeah!" Tonks came into sight as the three made their way to the kitchen. "Happy birthday, Harry! I made you breakfast!" She offered cheerfully, hiding the broom she'd been using to clean up the plates she'd dropped.

Mad Eye was there already, as were the Weasley twins and Ginny. All were digging eagerly into the food piled up on the table.

"You...er, made all of this?" Harry asked, slightly skeptical. She had a day or two off every week and her cooking experiences were memorable, to say the least.

Tonks blushed slightly. "Well, Remus helped." She said, smiling gratefully at the man.

"Harry!" The twins and Ginny had caught sight of him and the conversation was forgotten. "Happy birthday, mate!" Fred and George exclaimed as one.

"Happy birthday, Harry!" Ginny chimed in, smiling nervously at him. She blushed furiously when he smiled at her, quickly looking down at her plate.

"Hi, guys!" Harry said, sliding into the seat beside George. "Hi, Ginny! How's your summer been?"

Hermione sat down next to Harry, in between him and Mad Eye. "How are you, Professor?" She asked cheerfully as she greeted the man.

Moody, looking as suspicious as usual, nodded at her. "I told you not to call me that." He muttered. "Never got to teach you, now did I?"

They had been having this conversation for almost two years now, but for once, Hermione had a suitable reply. "Actually," she said rather smugly, pouring herself some orange juice. "Professor Snape told me that you were coming back again this year to teach DADA again."

That stopped all other conversation, even Tonks and Remus hadn't known that. "Are you really, Moody?" Remus asked, grinning. "That's great!"

Moody huffed, slightly embarrassed. "That was supposed to be a secret." He growled. "I thought only Dumbledore knew that!"

"Apparently the Heads have been helping a lot this year." Harry said helpfully.

"Humph." Moody said. "If Snape wasn't spilling secrets, we wouldn't have had this problem."

"Are you really coming back, Professor?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Aw, now I'm almost-"

"-regretting that we won't be there." The twins chirped, pretending to look sad.

At their words, Moody barked out a gruff laugh. "Perhaps I'll survive the year with some sanity now that you aren't there." He teased. The boys had been around almost as often as Snape lately, as they'd been drafted to help with his brewing when he decided he could trust them. Needless to say, Moody had been subjected to their presence far more than he was comfortable enough, but luckily for their survival, they amused him more than they annoyed him.

"No, you don't have to worry about that." Hermione said, smiling sweetly at her best friend. "Harry's still there after all."

"Hey!" He protested, laughing. "That's not fair! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Now, now," Remus scolded before they could continue. "You all finish up. You can go play upstairs for a while. When the professors show up, we'll have cake and presents."

"Who's coming?" Hermione asked curiously. Severus had told her he wouldn't show his face, but Dumbledore had forced him to do other unpleasant things before.

Remus seemed to know what she was thinking and merely shook his head at her. "No, Severus won't be here." He said, chuckling. "He declined our invitation rather creatively. We wouldn't dare risk that again. But Minerva will be here as well as the Headmaster."

The teens had a fun day catching up with each other. Several times the twins had brewed with Hermione, while Harry occasionally pitched in, but the four had never really spent free time together. Ginny had been kept at the Burrow all summer under the very strict watch of Molly Weasley. Now, the twins were finally getting ready to open their store and Ginny was chomping at the bit to escape her mother and retreat back to Hogwarts.

When the Headmaster and their Head of House arrived, Harry and Hermione got some very welcome news. As the Headmaster greeted everyone, Minerva pulled the two aside. "The Headmaster has spoken to the four Heads about your idea." The Scottish woman said, lips tightly compressed. "I would like to state for the record that I am firmly against using children to fight such a battle for us."

They both opened their mouths to protest but Minerva had known them for far too long and merely held up her hand to stop their protest. "Yes, yes, it has been pointed out to me quite frequently over the last few days that no one can in good conscience call you children anymore. You have already seen far more than we would want our children to see. Which is why I have been asked to give you the congratulations of the other Heads. They have approved of your plan."

"Yes!" Hermione exclaimed, throwing her arms around Harry. "It worked!"

"How could it not?" Harry asked indulgently, squeezing her back tightly. "You came up with it. It wasn't like you were going to let them tell you 'no'."

Hermione pulled away, glaring at her friend. "Harry James, I don't think I like your tone." She said, putting her hands on her hips. "Are you calling me stubborn?"

"No!" Harry said, unable to hold back a smile. "Of course not! I would never do that."

"Don't you patronize me." She warned. "I will take back your present and buy you anther homework planner!"

"Oh, the horror!" Harry exclaimed, before dissolving into laughter.

"Well, I see the two of you have been enjoying yourselves since I last saw you." Minerva said with a soft smile. "I had better go greet Alastor before he starts pouting." She said, looking over Harry's shoulder at the two older men she had known for most of her adult life. Alastor and Albus already had their white heads together, they were plotting. She had to get over there before it got out of control. "Happy Birthday, Mr. Potter." She patted his shoulder and was gone.

That night, however, once everyone had left, Tonks and Remus received a visitor. Severus stepped out of the fire, absently brushing off a bit of soot and sneered at the room at large.

"Oh, Severus, I knew you wouldn't miss Harry's birthday." Tonks had no problem teasing her former teacher and made sure to advantage of every opportunity.

Not that he had ever appreciated her attempts at making him smile. "Out, Nymphadora." He said, pointing imperiously at the door. "I need to speak to the werewolf."

She glared at him, for daring to utter her first name, but knew even as she did so that her glares would never be effective enough against him. "Get out!" He repeated. "This is a conversation for grown-ups. And werewolves. You don't apply."

She huffed. "How dare you?" She said indignantly. When he stalked further into the room, not so coincidentally turning his back on her, she threw up her hands and stomped out of the room.

"Must you antagonize her?" Remus asked, placing a bookmark in his book and lying it down beside him.

"Yes, I really must." Severus said, taking the seat opposite. "It's one of my only pleasures in life. You wouldn't deny me that, would you?"

Remus shook his head at his former classmate's amused smirk. Only Severus… "Someday she's going to hex you and you're going to deserve it." He said, utterly amused. He only hoped he was around on that day.

"Ha." Severus rolled his eyes. "If she ever manages to hex me, I will deserve it, though I can't imagine ever being so slow. She needs to learn she can't just flirt her way through life. It may work with Dumbledore, it may work with you, but I'll be damned if it works with me."

Oh, sometimes Remus missed Severus at his most arrogant. Of course, then he inevitably heard Severus at his most arrogant and remembered why the man was so picked on when he was in school. It was one of the few times in the man's life where he had been outnumbered enough that their collective strength could overpower him. Now Severus was so powerful that even when he was outnumbered three times out of four he'd emerge the victor. Unfortunately, that didn't help with his arrogance.

"Yes, yes." Thankfully, Remus had learned by now what worked with Severus. Instead of protesting, Remus turned to placation, as that annoyed Severus more than his protests, which simply would have been ignored. "Of course, Severus, we bow to your superiority, as per usual. So, what have you come to see me about?"

"As Dumbledore has seen fit to agree to Granger's idiotic plan, certain plans have to be taken." Severus said, crossing his legs uneasily as the conversation turned back to its main point, sparring match over for now. He didn't like calm conversations with the werewolf, he'd much prefer fighting. Were he a lesser man, he would have pouted over being denied a chance to verbally spar. "Obviously Granger wouldn't have made such a plan if she and Potter didn't have a large chance of being reSorted into Slytherin. Unfortunately, no matter how they spin it, they are going to be in danger. Very few Slytherins are going to be behind this reSort and they're all going to be hostile to newly Sorted Slytherins."

Remus nodded. "I do realize that." He agreed. "And so, what is your plan?"

"Summer vacation is over for Potter and Granger." Severus said simply. "I will continue working with Granger. You will begin working with Potter. Teach him strong offensive spells. Borderline Dark spells would likely be best, as I'm sure that would fit into Granger's plans. That's what she's been pushing for. If he can manage any Wandless magic, I'd give it a go as well. Try for a summoning spell at the very least. They'll need everything they can to impress the Snakes."

"I think that would probably be a good idea." Remus said as he thought it over. "They're obviously determined to this and it's crazy enough to actually work."

"Most of Potter's plans do." Severus said bitterly. He relented after only a second, smirking in spite of himself. "And since that boy couldn't plan to save his life, we all know most of his plans come from Granger. So, I suppose I should say most of _Granger's_ plans succeed. I have no doubt that she hasn't thought this one out to the smallest detail. It's very unlikely that it will fail."

"I can think of one way it would fail." Remus said, curious about the answer he'd receive. It had been discussed during the party, but no one felt safe enough to bring it up to Severus. As there was probably no way that Severus could ever hate Remus more, he had no problem asking the Slytherin man. "How are you going to treat Harry if he becomes a Slytherin? Or Hermione, for that matter. If you're against them, they don't stand a chance. Pomona and Filius and Minerva have promised that they will not treat any transfers differently. Can you say the same? I mean, depending on exactly how far Hermione has planned this, Neville Longbottom could very well end up in your House."

Severus couldn't hold back a wince at the horrid thought. "I highly doubt that would happen." He said, struggling to regain his neutral face. "I can see the possibility of Potter getting in as well as the probability of Granger being reSorted into my House. I will accept them if that happens. I demand solidarity of my Snakes, no matter what their personal feelings are, nor what my personal feelings for them are. None of the new Snakes will be any different."

"Alright." Remus said hesitantly.

"You don't believe me?" Severus asked, suddenly amused as he realized that. Many people hated him, not that he felt any differently, but his honor was generally taken for granted. He was truthful, if nothing else. He never had a reason not to be. There was no one he could make hate him more than they already did.

"I don't think that I do." Remus said, since Severus seemed so calm. He wasn't sure exactly why Severus hadn't shot him down or started shouting, but was going to go on as long as he could. "I've never seen any of them act particularly friendly to each other."

"I didn't say that they were friendly." Severus pointed out casually. "I said that they were solid. They will support one another, should anything demand it. Take for example…" He stopped to try to think of the students Remus would be most familiar with after only a year with his Snakes. "Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini. How would you describe their relationship?"

Remus laughed at the thought. "If a Malfoy could ever be said to have a friend, I suppose that's how I'd describe them. Crabbe and Goyle certainly never counted. Blaise and Draco, on the other hand, are always together."

"And you couldn't be more wrong." Severus couldn't hold back a laugh at the thought. "I wouldn't quite go so far to say they hate each other, say with the same level that Potter and Malfoy feel about each other, but they have quite a rivalry. They are together all the time for protection, especially as Potter is usually with his two friends. Draco does have Crabbe and Goyle with him, but they can hardly be considered as any real help in a magical fight. Especially as Theodore Nott refuses to play any politics and merely seems content to merely laze through life. They have an intensely sarcastic rivalry. They can literally rip each other to shreds with only the merest of provocations. It is amusing to see," he added as an afterthought. "But when they're not sniping at each other, they almost totally ignore each other."

"I'd be interested in seeing how Hermione fares." Remus said, only a little wistful. "She has quite a sarcastic streak when given free reign."

"Yes, that's certainly true." Severus said, smirking. "I have no doubt that she'll hold her own. I know that throughout her first three years, there were almost constant searches into her past. My Snakes were determined to prove that she wasn't Muggle-born. There are still periodic surges when they begin searching again. Though I must confess, I'm interested in seeing how Potter fares as well. I often thought his father some decidedly Slytherin characteristics."

Remus froze, looking awkwardly downward. "Erm…"

"Don't." Severus said immediately, holding up a finger to stop Remus before he could offer any sort of platitude. "I don't want you to say anything. I have discovered I have a bad habit lately of saying more to you than I mean to. I can almost forget who you are sometimes," he added stiffly. "You and I will not discuss James Potter. Ever."

Remus nodded fervently. "I think that might be for the best." He agreed.

"It's going to be an interesting year." Severus said, smoothly moving on as if the subject of his enemy had never come up. He took a deep breath and turned back to Lupin. He had one other task to do and he was damned if he would let Minerva taunt him about not doing it simply because he'd gotten distracted. "Which is why the other Heads and I think that it would best, all around, if you were to come to Hogwarts."

"What?" Remus turned so quickly he got a knot in his neck, which he quickly worked out. "What are you talking about? I mean, we learned today that Moody's going to teach Defense against the Dark Arts again. That fills the staff for the year."

"I'm sure you've heard at least some of the changes we've made for this year, since we stepped in to limit some of the bad decisions that Dumbledore has made in the last few years." Severus said. "One decision we decided upon was to send Binns off to his final reward. There have been complaints about him for years. Of course, because he's been teaching for so long, we weren't sure who exactly to get to replace him. But when we thought about scholars we knew who have devoted a large majority of their lives to studying wizard history, you were at the top of a very short list."

"You're kidding me." Remus said, dazed. If not for the fact that he was talking to Severus- _Severus!_- he would never have believed what he'd just heard. He'd have hexed them for such a cruel joke. But Snape didn't know how to joke. Right?

"Lupin, please," Severus immediately scoffed. "Why in Morgana's name would I joke about such a stupid issue?"

"I don't…I don't know." Remus confessed. "Well, of course, I'd love to." He said when Severus turned impatiently to him. "I- I have to start on lesson plans! I only have a month."

"I'm sure you'll manage." Severus said, rolling his eyes. "Bookworm. Well," he said, standing. "If that's everything, I need some sleep. I'll be here for Granger, bright and early. I'd suggest you do the same to Potter. As you said, we've only got a month."

* * *

Hello to anyone still out there! Sorry sorry this has been so long, but my last semester of college was ridiculous. I finally have an update for you, but won't make a promise as to the next update, as I am currently without the internet at home. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and if there are any problems/issues, please tell me! Next chapter we'll be back at Hogwarts. As always, if there are any ideas you'd like included, be sure to let me know! Thanks,

Minara.


	17. In Which Training Begins

Chapter 17- In Which Training Commences

And thus, August was set into furious motion. Harry and Hermione ate breakfast together, but didn't often see each other afterwards. When it became apparent Remus needed more space for dueling as there was no other cleaned spaces besides the basement, they did get a few days together when Severus and Remus took them to the attic and taught them a few quick charms for detecting dark magic as well as hexes for the creatures they found there.

After that, their time together was almost non-existent. They quickly would eat breakfast with a cheerful Tonks, while Remus and Severus chatted and sniped at one another before being whisked as far from each other as they could. From there on, their specialized training began.

Severus decided to focus on Hermione's wandless magic as well as borderline Dark potions, which he knew were frequently on the black market in Hogwarts.

Hermione, unfortunately, had recovered enough of her equilibrium and general Gryffindor 'goodness' to object to his teachings.

"Professor!" She objected, when he presented her with the ingredients necessary to make a potion that would enhance a person's memory for the space of three hours. It was regularly used to help students cram on tests right before they took them and officially banned at Hogwarts. "I can't brew this! It's got a 25 galleon fine attached to it!"

"Granger," Severus said, striving for calm. Demanding the child do anything, he knew from the last five years, would do nothing. She had to have an explanation or she would not obey. Despite what the other professors spouted in the teacher's lounge about how law-abiding the girl was, Severus kenw better. "I'm not trying to imply that you need it or even that you use it. Your plan is good, Granger, so good that it might actually work. But not only do you have to get into Slytherin, you have to get them to accept you. Now you and Potter getting transferred to Slytherin will be enough to shock them, but afterwards that's going to be enough. You're going to have to prove your worth. There are continual contests within Slytherin for power. You have be more cunning and more ambitious than any of the other Snakes. This is one way to do it. Potter is learning curses, you're learning potions. We have less than a month left before you two return and you can teach each other in your spare time. Now, brew the potion."

She glared at him, her fear of him almost totally gone, but gave in. "Yes sir." She said, putting her cauldron on the fire.

* * *

While intimidation might have worked with Severus, Remus went right to the explanation. "Harry," he gestured the teen to take a seat on the now-empty attic floor the first day they went up to train. "I'm going to teach you some curses you would never have thought to look for. I know you don't think you would ever use these, but if the two of you are going into the Snake Pit, you have to be prepared. They're going to think that this is a plot, no matter what. The two of you are going to be tested, over and over."

Of course, he wasn't above using a little cunning. "Your godfather gave taught your father and I some of these curses himself. Don't forget, in all fairness, he thought he'd be in Slytherin, no matter what he thought. After he got into Gryffindor, he was often attacked by his former childhood friends and he taught us those spells so that we wouldn't be targeted."

"Sirius taught these?" Harry's eyes lit up at the very mention of the man. "That's great!"

"Yes." Remus agreed. He had just one more point that he knew would be just as important. "You will teach these to Hermione when you get to Hogwarts and she'll teach you what she's learning from Snape. This will be one more way that you can help to keep Hermione safe, if she should need it. Slytherins play rough, Harry. They'll test you and they'll test her. You have to prove yourself worthy to them."

"Ha." Harry scoffed. "Like they _have_ any worth."

"Ah, ah." Remus shook his head scoldingly. "Harry, don't fall into that trap. Gryffindors have too long felt that way and I'm positive it's what caused so many Slytherins to join Voldemrot. If no one thinks the Slytherins can amount to anything, why should they try to be better?"

"I…I don't know." Harry hesitated, remembering the different things Hermione had said in the Slytherins defense over the years. "I guess that makes sense."

"Though it makes no sense to us, perhaps because we try to display Gryffindor ideals, but Slytherins have their own code of honor." Remus said, patting the boy on the shoulder. He knew it had taken him and the others years to let themselves see any good in the Slytherins at Hogwarts. "Take Severus, for example. He is one of the most honourable men I've ever known. He hates your father with a blinding rage that I doubt will ever subside. In spite of that, he has spent the last five years doing everything possible to protect you. He is respected by powerful wizards on both sides of the war, in spite of his less-than charming behavior."

"I can see that." Harry admitted. He certainly couldn't deny the character of Severus Snape. Hermione had spent years defending their Potions Professor. "Even Professor Dumbledore trusts him. Completely." He added, remembering the quote Dumbledore so often spoke to him. "Okay, let's do it."

"Alright." Remus gestured the boy back to his feet. "These spells are all legal, though most are frowned upon. Let's start with some of the more innocent ones- like the one causes your opponent to itch all over."

And with that, their studies began.

* * *

Hermione's studies were not contained to Severus. As it was so close to the school year, where he would be under Dumbledore's eye once again, Voldemort stepped up his orders for Dark potions. When Severus got too busy, he turned the girl over to Tonks.

Having an Auror to duel with helped Hermione, who without her rage to sustain her was hesitant when it came to casting spells at another person. The two of them would have mock duels, with Tonks teaching Hermione a few upper level spells, before collapsing in Tonks' room to talk. Though Severus would have been furious to know that Tonks wasn't following his schedule as planned, the pink-haired woman knew there were some lessons that she could teach that Severus couldn't.

"Hermione, I cannot deny that when in a rage, you're a formidable opponent." Tonks said after a particularly frustrating duel. "But you can't depend on that all the time. Think of it this way," she said, eager to help the girl in her goals. "You know spells are powered by our emotions."

"Yeah," Hermione agreed. "And getting angry makes them stronger in most cases."

"In _most_ cases," Tonks agreed. "But some people become so enraged, their focus is destroyed. Some lose the ability to cast and some just lose the ability to aim. Staying calm when in a firefight is vital. Rage helps, I won't deny that, but you have to keep your cool. It's vital for anyone, but especially for you."

"For me?" As Tonks expected, such a truth offended Hermione. "Why? Because I'm muggle-born?"

"No." Tonks could honestly say. "Because you're female. Hermione, most of the Death Eaters are male. With the exception of my crazy aunt Bellatrix, there can't be more than two other female Death Eaters. Most pureblooded women, though in theory they agree with Voldemort's cause, believe they support the cause by birthing sons to fight. Because of this, pureblooded men look down on women fighters. They target women first, believing them to be weaker."

She shifted closer to the other girl, throwing an arm around her. "For all women who plan to be Aurors, before our first year of training is up, they make sure to sit us down and have a very frank discussion. It isn't to frighten you," she hastened to say. "But it's to make sure you absolutely know what you're getting in to. I won't go through everything they said to us and showed us, but you've heard rumours at least of what happen during Death Eater revels. You have to stay in control, because if you are captured, they will not show mercy on you. They will rape you, they will torture you and they will kill you."

Her arm tightened as the other girl started shaking. "Stay calm. Let me say this better. They will _try_ to do these things. There are enough spies in their ranks that you will most likely escape with your life. Severus himself would give up his position to save you."

"Ha." Hermione tried to keep her voice steady. "Snape has succeeded as a spy for longer than anyone else because he's willing to sacrifice anything."

"Hermione, think what you want about Severus, but he cares for you." Tonks said, smiling. "Believe me, I've known the man since he started teaching. He's been mean, he's been evil, he's belittled me since I was twelve, but he's always done the right thing. Hermione, I've never seen him act like he has this summer. Believe me, when I say he cares for you. He tutored me when I was in school so that I could join the Auror Corps, he taught dueling to several members of the Order. He has mentored others. But he's _never_ gotten so close. If he'd caught me drinking, even after I was old enough, I would have rubbed my hands raw on cauldrons. He was only concerned for _why _you were drinking, not that you were disobeying. He would try to keep you safe. But you need to do your part to keep him from having to make that decision."

Hermione frowned. "I believe that. Snape has saved us year after year. I guess you're right, I'll have to stay focused. It's just hard to fire at another person. I can't help but think of what exactly my spells could do if it hit. I have no problem sending them at someone who deserves it."

Tonks had no patience for that kind of attitude. "I understand that, but you cannot keep thinking that way. Madame Pomfrey is only a Floo call away, if one of us should be hurt. We are at war, Hermione, this isn't just a fun duel. This is very literally a life or death simulation. We, the Order, do strive to take our opponents alive, which may or may not be a mistake, but the Death Eaters play for keeps. They will throw an Unforgivable at you with no hesitance. You have to be ready to strike immediately."

"I will, Tonks, I promise."

From then on, Hermione did work harder during her sessions, trying to stay focused. She found the vision of her parents' bodies lying on the floor of her childhood home often palyed at the front of her mind, helping to keep her focused. Tonks did her part too, to help the girl focused. She knew, from a few discreet discussions with Snape, who exactly was responsible for the Granger's deaths and when she felt the girl losing focus, she would shift into her aunt's form.

Such an action always immediately focused Hermione, no matter how tired she was, and as a result Tonks had to be healed more than a few times.

Though Hermione always felt horrible after each of these events, Tonks would hear no apology. "That's what I was talking about!" She exclaimed to Hermione after she had escaped from Pomfrey after one of their mock duels required Tonks to stay in the Hospital Wing for a day. "Your power and control is improving every day, Hermione. I couldn't be more proud of you!"

* * *

Of course, in direct defiance of Severus's orders to stretch Hermione's magic to its limits, not every session with Tonks was so emotional. Tonks was determined that the girl not drown in her revenge, but to have fun. Harry's sessions, Tonks knew from sneaking in more than a few times when her curiosity grew too much to ignore, were often interrupted with stories about the Marauders' school days.

Tonks knew Hermione didn't have many female friends and decided that, if she couldn't fill the guardian role for Hermione, she could at least be a friend to her. She made sure to make Hermione chat with her, over hair care and clothes. She even snuck the girl out of the house, with the help of Hestia Jones, and took the girl shopping.

When Hermione protested, as Tonks knew she would, the elder girl had a ready excuse. "Look, Hermione," she said, "I know you are trying not to break any more of Snape's rules, but this one is vital. You'll have to do something that Harry won't have to do when you get to Slytherin. You'll have to face off with Malfoy and his little band, yes, but you will also have to face the Slytherin girls. Without the right clothes, without the right manners, they will tear you apart. Hestia and I will make sure you're safe, so let's go have some fun!"

And thus, they had a delightful shopping trip. Tonks knew nothing she did would ever make Hermione a "girly" girl, but she knew exactly what the Slytherin women looked for, thanks to her mother. Hermione's wardrobe was augmented and the three were able to chat the day away.

* * *

That trip sparked Tonks' mind, as she realized several things. First of all, she got a hold of Kingsley, who took over Harry's training the week Remus was unable to train because of the full moon, and had him take Harry on a shopping trip of his own. She knew that Harry's clothes were a result of his idiot relatives, but the baggy clothing he wore would not hold up to Slytherin standards.

Secondly, she got a hold of her mother and set up a meeting with her and Severus, who was as annoyed as Tonks imagined he would be.

"What is the meaning of this?" He demanded, arms crossed as he glared down at the two women drinking tea in the kitchen of Grimmauld. Though Andromeda was not officially part of the Order, she was a Black and so Sirius had allowed her into the house on more than one occasion to visit with him. "I have Granger working on a potion downstairs!"

"Severus," Tonks said cheerfully, just to annoy him, "I was talking to Hermione the other day and something occurred to me. She not only needs the power to fit in with the Slytherins, she also needs the knowledge. Whether she's Pureblooded or not, they'll expect her to respect the pureblood culture. I thought my mother, as she was a Slytherin, after all, could teach her. How to hold herself, how to present herself, and so that she knows what they'll expect of her. If she doesn't learn that, she'll won't be able to fit in."

"That's the whole point!" Severus argued, if only on principle. "They won't fit in, no matter what we do. They do know that, Ms. Tonks. Even if you don't."

"Yes, they are aware that it's going to be hard." She agreed. "But, they have to learn to play by Slytherin rules! Either that or they gain power through fear, which is only going to make little Malfoy try to turn everyone them against them."

"Severus," Andromeda said calmly, after allowing her daughter to fight with the other Slytherin for a few minutes and realizing they had no intention of stopping anytime soon. "You know she's right. Helping them to fit in will make it that much easier for them. You're only fighting because you didn't think of it yourself and you know it. Stop this foolishness now and let me know when you can fit me in. I'll speak with both Ms. Granger nad Mr. Potter, as I don't imagine you will want to spend any time with the boy."

Severus turned his glare on her, but she had graduated long before he arrived at Hogwarts and he inspired no fear in her. All too soon, he caved, setting up the appointments.

* * *

Unbeknownst to anyone else, thanks in large part to Severus's threats, he and Hermione did grow closer. He did not hold the sympathy for the girl that Tonks did and worked his pupil to her limit each day he taught her. It was at the end of each session, when she was too injured to heal herself and almost too exhausted not to fall asleep, on the stone floor of the basement, that his sympathy filtered back in and he spoke to the girl.

These small sessions, at the end of each day, gave both of them insights into each other. She spoke of her childhood, a lonely childhood that was all too characteristic of a too-smart child who didn't know when to keep quiet, while he informed her of some of the troubles that an outsider in Slytherin faced. He was never specific and he almost never spoke of his early childhood or those years he spent between graduating and teaching, but by the end of the month, Hermione knew more about Snape that probably anyone else, with the exception of the Headmaster.

He couldn't help but grow more fond of the girl, even in spite of his firmest declarations that he felt nothing more for her than for the average student. When he realized that they were growing closer, he made sure that she was adequately threatened. "I assure you, Ms. Granger, if you should repeat any of this to any of your little friends, I will make sure you regret it." He threatened her one day.

"Come on, Professor," He couldn't have been more surprised when she laughed at him. "I would never be that stupid. Even if I could somehow get away without being chopped up into Potion's ingredients, I'd still be risking myself. You could just as easily tell your Slytherins things I told you. Mutually assured destruction, is what we're facing here."

Until then, Severus had failed to appreciate the other lessons the girl was taking. He smirked evilly. "Ah, I see you have learned a thing or two from Madame Tonks." He said approvingly. "I'm glad to see your time hasn't been wasted. You're becoming quite the little Slytherin."

She smiled, well aware of the high compliment she had just been paid. "Thank you, sir." She said. "I try. So, do you think we're ready?"

"I've seen over the years how you can keep Potter in line." Severus said evasively, thinking his answer over. Did he think she was ready? Hm… "And I believe you've learned enough. If you can keep calm, I have full confidence in you."

"Thank you!" She said. "So, Professor," she had been wanting to ask and as he was about as calm as she ever saw, she dared it now. "Do you think that _you_ can accept me into Slytherin? As in, you're not going to treat us differently, are you? You'll treat us as any other student?"

Severus had heard that question so many times over the month, at the planning meetings the Heads had to implement the plan, at Order meetings from concerned people, from the Headmaster, that he almost snapped at the girl. Only the sight of her body, already braced for the outburst she had obviously already anticipated from him, stopped him.

"I know that I'm known as a stern, unpleasant man," Severus said in as neutral a tone as he could. "But I never knew I was seen as completely unreasonable. Everyone I've spoken to lately has expressed this concern to me. Think of it logically, if nothing else. Why would I have spent my summer training you only to reject you once Hogwarts starts."

"Because once we're at Hogwarts again, you'll be frustrated by three-fourths of the student population and surrounded by students you actually like." Hermione said bluntly. She had learned not to be evasive around him, it accomplished nothing.

Severus nodded, conceding her point. "I will admit it, I do enjoy my Snakes for the most part. There are a few who I cannot save and that frustrates me, but I have never turned on a Snake no matter who he or she was. If Potter were made a Slytherin in your First year, despite what everyone said, I would have accepted him. Should your plan actually work, I will accept whoever is reSorted. I will accept even you, Granger."

He thought, as he had for at least the past few weeks, how he could make her understand his sincerity, when suddenly a conversation he'd had with Ms. Tonks flashed through his mind. He grinned slightly. "Or, I suppose I should say, Hermione. I do call all of my Snakes by their first name, when we are in the Pit. I'm a much more hands-on Head than Minerva, simply because my students are sneakier."

"Hermione?" The girl repeated, amazed that the word had left his lips.

His grin grew into his customary smirk. "Well, well, a speechless Gryffindor. That doesn't happen often. That is your first name, isn't it?"

Aware she was being teased, and by Snape!, she scowled. "Not a Gryffindor for long," she sniffed. "But okay. I suppose that answers some of my fears. Thanks, Professor."

"Severus." Now that he had taken the step, he wasn't about to go back or even stop halfways. "My Snakes call me Severus. So that you aren't surprised, some of the younger ones call me Uncle Severus. Call me Sev and I'll make you regret it."

She laughed at that. "Okay. Thank you… Severus."

* * *

The Pureblood lessons, with Tonks' mother, were some of the hardest lessons that Hermione had. The only thing that she really liked about them were that Andromeda had put her foot down and demanded that Harry and Hermione have class together. She knew these lessons were usually given to children within the ages of eight and ten and she had barely three weeks, so she focused on practical things. She talked about how the male and female Slytherins interacted, how each of them were expected to act around certain groups and basic Wizarding etiquette.

She loaded them down with journals of her time at Hogwarts, as well as some that she'd written so that her daughter would be able to fit into Slytherin, should she be sorted there. By having them in class together, it was her hope that they'd be able to watch each other.

Also, she knew from her daughter that they hadn't gotten much time together, it was a relaxing time for them together. Many of their classes were interrupted by laughter as the two of them practiced their manners on each other.

She encouraged the two of them to read up all they could and to test each other. Though they were rough, she wasn't too worried. Manners often went out the window when surrounded by hundreds of other students and if they failed in upholding their manners to an extent that the other Slytherins commented on it, they could always blame it on their Gryffindor influences.

Harry summoned up their feelings on these lessons though, in a rather simple manner. "This is simple. All we have to do is act like Malfoy- like we're better than anyone else in the world!"

* * *

Though both Harry and Hermione despaired at times that they would survive their training, they did in fact make it through the month. Their training was called to an end on the twenty-ninth, when Severus and Remus were required to arrive at Hogwarts to finalize all their syllabi and teaching schedules. Harry and Hermione hid in her room, ignoring the Order who were bustling all around the house and just relaxed, amusing each other with training stories the first day and then grew bored and wandered to the basement. The next two days were passed with the twins, brewing up fun potions.

They had so much fun, they almost missed the fact that Ron had sent them a letter. He had decided to spend his whole summer with Charlie and only made it back on the thirty-first, just in time to get his supplies from Diagon Alley. Tonks had taken care of Harry and Hermione's supplies, so they didn't risk venturing out. Instead, they promised to meet him on the train.

"Well, we'll get to spend one nice afternoon with Ron," Harry said wryly as he took his turn stirring the potion he and Hermione were making opposite of the twins.

Fred and George had spent so much time at Grimmauld, they had figured out the plans for the upcoming year. They shared a glance at Harry's words, highly doubtful of his words. The boy was thick at times, but even he would be able to see the difference in Harry and Hermione. They were much more fit and even more confident because of their training. They looked entirely different than they had last year.

Before they could speak, however, Hermione had to burst his bubble. "Harry, no." She said, shaking her head. "You forget, we have to start tomorrow! Remember, we're dating?"

"Oh, right!" Harry said, eyes widening as he remembered. "Damn. We're not even going to get one day of peace!"

"Wait, wait!" Fred interrupted. "What's this-"

"-about dating?" George finished. "We thought you were-"

"-just being reSorted?" Fred said.

"Well, we are." Hermione said, shrugging. "But we can't just decide abruptly that we're going to leave our House."

"No, we need a reason." Harry added, sighing. "And let's face it, we all know how Ron's going to react when he sees us. What other reason would two members of the "Golden Trio" have for becoming Slytherins?"

"Oh," George said, frowning. "I guess we hadn't-"

"-thought of that." Fred finished, his face identical to his brother's. "That would be-"

"-a problem." George added. He abruptly grinned. "But then again, this was plotted by-"

"-our Hermione!" Fred said with a wink. "Of course, she thought everything through."

"Don't worry, he'll come around." George had to try to comfort the younger teens when they couldn't even muster a smile at the twins' teasing.

"He always does." Fred added, patting Hermione's shoulder.

"Yeah." She said, dredging up a smile. "We'll see." She said, darting a quick look at Harry, as if offering him yet another out.

"Yeah." Harry agreed, squeezing her hand and ignoring her hesitant glance. "_We _will see."

* * *

And before the new school year started, Severus was called once more to the Dark Lord. As was the case more often than not with Severus, he was summoned alone. The Dark Lord was the only one in the room when he responded, sitting on a large throne in the middle of the room. He was absently reading a book, which he laid on the arm of his throne when Severus arrived.

Severus bowed low before rising to his full height. One of the many reasons devout followers like Bellatrix Lestrange so disliked him was because he refused to prostrate himself before anyone. His unique position within the ranks, as the only fully certified Potions Master provided him with a protection that no one else had and he knew how to use it to his advantage.

"My Lord," he said smoothly, easily hiding his repulsion for the snake-like man before him. "You are looking well today."

"Severus," Voldemort hissed, his red eyes watching Severus's every slight movement. "I am well, thank you. How are things progressing at Hogwarts?" He demanded, never one for small talk.

"They are…interesting." Severus said, allowing a smirk to grace his face. "The other Heads have had a falling out with Dumbledore. I'm not sure what instigated the fight, as I've received three different stories, but I let them "convince" me that we need to enforce our rights as Heads to check all of the Headmaster's decisions. Dumbledore is angry and quite offended."

"What do you think instigated such an action?" Whatever else anyone might say about Voldemort, there had been one reason that seventeen year old Severus had joined the charismatic man. Even heart-broken, ostracized by the majority of the school, Severus had only joined the Death Eaters because of the respect he had initially had for Tom Riddle. Tom, evil though he might have turned out to be, was a true Slytherin. Unlike some of the other lunatics, who were only interested in Pureblood superiority, Tom was a true Slytherin. He understood the necessity of long-term plans, which was why he had allowed Severus to become a spy in the first place. It was also why he had accepted the younger man back into his ranks when he rose again with barely any punishment.

It was why, Severus was fully aware, he didn't punish the Potions Master for starting a new plot without consulting him. Riddle had always, after all, appreciated the other man's intellect.

"I can't read the little half-Goblin and Sprout's no better, as she's always focused on plants even when she's speaking of other things." Severus said. "She's more of a follower. But from what I've seen in McGonagall's mind, Potter wrote to her for help. Before the split, she came to me, demanding healing potions. I believe the boy was hurt and she used them on her, though to be fair I initially thought it was for that half-Giant idiot that she pampers nearly as much as Dumbledore does."

"Hagrid." Voldemort mused, leaning back in his throne. "Yes, he always was favored, the half-breed. And?"

"Granger has been hiding out with Potter, wherever he is. That little Muggle is all fired up because of what Lucius did to her parents. Apparently her control over Potter is more complete than anyone thought because he wrote to McGonagall, asking her about some obscure rule. She convinced the other Heads to agree to it, as everyone knows how she favours the girl."

"Oh?" Voldemort had in fact heard more than one rant from the Potions Master about the young lady. "What has she plotted."

Voldemort had never been able to decide if Severus hated the Mudblood friend of Potter or admired her and, once again, his view changed back to 'admiring' as Severus let out a harsh laugh. "Oh, the girl would be a great Slytherin. In fact, she _might_ be a great Slytherin. She's gotten McGonagall to reinstate the rule that allows for Sixth Years to be reSorted, should they choose. I originally thought it to be a bad idea, but I must confess to be intrigued. Despite her unfortunate birth, I think Granger would be a Slytherin if reSorted. I always thought it would be Ravenclaw, but lately I've noticed just how cunning the chit is." Severus admitted.

"Really?" Voldemort too was interested. If Granger came up with the idea, she would definitely take advantage of it. "Why though, would the girl want to leave Gryffindor? Unless it's a plot of some sort. She wouldn't survive in Slytherin."

"Unfortunately, my Lord," Severus said, "I couldn't let the girl die. Dumbledore would never allow that. No one was allowed in the castle this summer, and I'm sure Dumbledore was manipulating the wards to protect these students. I think a lot of students may be reSorted, if only for laughs. I'm afraid more than a few of them will infiltrate my Snake's Den, as they should be appreciating ambition more now than when they were eleven. I also have reason to believe, based on how McGonagall has been acting lately, that this may not just be a whim of Granger's."

"Oh?" Voldemort asked, leaning on one arm. "How so? She is up to something?"

"No," Severus said, rolling his eyes. "McGonagall has been sighing wistfully and has a smug smile on her face whenever Granger or Potter's name comes up. Most of the other professors have a betting pool as to when the two will begin dating. I fear the worst has happened and the two have become a couple," Severus added, wrinkling his nose distastefully.

The Dark Lord laughed. "Well, this girl grows more interesting by the day. How will Potter feel if his little girlfriend becomes a Snake?"

"Ah, that's where it gets truly interesting, my Lord." Severus said with a smirk. "There have been rumours for years that Potter should have ended up in Slytherin first year and that only talking to Draco Malfoy and the youngest Weasley convinced him to go to Gryffindor instead. McGonagall has demanded several times over the summer that I promise to be fair to any former Gryffindor, should they end up in Slytherin. Both Potter and Granger seem to believe they are going to end up in Slytherin. And in that case, I come to you, my Lord, for advice. I am not sure which way would be best for your plans."

A little flattery, after all, never hurt! Severus was skilled, in these one on one meetings, in avoiding a single _Crucio_.

"Hm." The Dark Lord fell silent, debating Severus's options, taking for granted that his opinion would be asked. "It will be interesting to see. If they only joined Slytherin to get away from the Weasley brat, I can't exactly blame them. If, however, they are willing to take steps to befriend the other Slytherins, make sure that they are receptive to them. If we could turn either of them, it would be quite the coup. Even the Mudblood. She intrigues me. To be honest, I did not think much of her, especially given how Lucius goes on about her. I thought she would break thanks to his actions. If she uses the death of those useless Muggles to grow as a witch, however, she may yet be worth something."

"Additionally," Severus added. "I wished to hear what you thought of the resorting. I am curious as to whether you wish my Snakes to be reSorted. I'm confident that the smarter ones should be able to talk that fool Hat into sorting them into other Houses. It could be useful in recruiting."

"That _is_ interesting." Voldemort, Severus was pleased to see, was very intrigued by such a notion. He was always interested in more recruits. "Encourage any student that seeks your advice to do it. Hopefully we can get rid of those pathetic neutrals. I shall speak to a few of my Death Eaters and have them instruct their sons to do it. This could be a very helpful tool that was handed to us. Now, I'm sure you have things to do." Voldemort went on after a moment. "I will not be calling any time soon, as I wish to see how things work out. Whenever these get finished, send them to Lucius." He added, handing a list of Potions to the Potions Master.

"I will get started on them immediately, my Lord." Severus said, tucking the parchment into his robes with a short bow.

"That is what I like to hear, my boy." Voldemort said, smiling down at the other man. "Now, you are dismissed. Until next, my Slytherin. Make me proud."

"Yes, my Lord, I will endeavour to do so." Severus gave another, deeper bow. He rose, Apparating away immediately. As he arrived in Hogsmeade, he immediately turned towards the castle. He took off his mask, transfiguring his robe as he walked. He stuck to the shadows, allowing a satisfied smirk to grace his face. This round had definitely ended with him as victor! The Dark Lord hadn't skimmed his mind, doubtful of his story, once.

* * *

Hello again! I hope you enjoyed this, though I'm not sure I did. It was different than anything I've written so far, but I needed to get through August quickly while also showing the many things that happened. I hope none of these little vignettes were too out of context. I thought they were all a little too short, but this is one of the longest chapters I've written already... Anyways, if something doesn't make sense, please let me know. There is a lot of info here... Until next time, plz let me know your thoughts. If there are any sections you feel incomplete that you feel are important, let me know. I'll try to expand it later.


	18. In Which the Deception Begins

Chapter Eighteen- In Which the Deception Begins

Harry and Hermione were woken early on the first of September, so that they could eat breakfast with Tonks. She watched in amusement as the two hesitantly picked at their food, neither one looking very enthusiastic.

"Oh, c'mon." She wouldn't be Tonks if she didn't take the opportunity to tease them. "Don't look so sad. You're going to have a great year! You'll join a new House- get away from stupid Gryffindor. Doesn't all that red hurt your eyes?"

"Oh, yeah," Harry muttered morosely. "Green and silver will be so soothing. Especially when it's lit up with the light from all the spells we'll be dodging."

"It'll be almost a year before Ron will speak to us, knowing how stubborn he is. If he ever speaks to us again." Hermione added quietly.

Tonks' smile faded as she realized just how worried the two teens were. "You know, all these measures are in place, but if you're not comfortable, there is still time to back out. You don't _have _to do this. You can simply choose not to be reSorted."

"No, we can't." Harry spoke up before Hermione could even open her mouth. "This is the best shot we've had in years. We can't give up a plan that is such a good idea." He added, reaching over to squeeze her hand reassuringly.

Tonks laughed, always happy to see the two children together. "I do want you two to keep one thing in mind. Eventually your friends are going to understand. Eventually this war is going to be over. But the two of you have to accept right now that you're not going to be able to save everyone. Some of those Slytherins believe in what their parents say. They like their position in the Wizarding World and whether they like You-Know-Who's actions or not, they aren't going to rock the broomstick. You know that, right?"

"Tonks, I do know we have to be realistic." Hermione said, biting her lip as she tried to stay calm. "But I don't believe that at the age of eleven all of those kids decided they were ready to join Voldemort's service. I don't think any of them have chosen that now."

Harry nodded in agreement. "Which means, as of right now, we still have a chance with all of them." He said. "Tonks, Pettigrew was a Gryffindor. Saying that they're Slytherin and so can't be saved is unfair. Your mother was a Slytherin."

Tonks smiled. "You're right," she admitted. She certainly couldn't apply such logic to her mother, not after everything the older woman had gone through to get to where she was now. "You're good kids. I hope you know we're all proud of you, just for trying this."

Now they both really looked uncomfortable. She got up with a laugh. "You better finish up. The group will be by soon to take you to the train station."

Hermione and Harry turned to each other, neither making any more pretense of eating. "This is it." Harry said.

"Yeah." Hermione shook her head. "This is going to be interesting, Harry."

"It's gonna be fun." He said firmly. "Hopefully, we'll make some new friends. If not, we'll learn more about our enemies. We have to be ready for anything."

"Yeah," she said, setting her fork on her plate. "We do. It's going to be tough, but we have to remember why we're doing this. For my parents- for your parents."

"For our friends." Harry added, smiling. "Although Ron might not believe that for awhile."

Hermione smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, we need him not to accept that. He's actually a very vital part of my plan." The irony was not lost on her.

Something flashed in Harry's eyes, warning her he was about to hit her with something unexpected before he spoke. "Hermione," he said, in that sweet tone that always meant trouble for her, "Speaking of your plan, I wanted to talk to you about one major part of it."

He looked around, as if remembering where they were. "Come on," he said, standing and offering her a hand. "Let's go to my room and talk."

"Sure." She said, taking his hand cautiously. They walked up to his room in silence, as he tried to gather his courage and she feverishly tried to find a flaw in her plan.

"Okay," she said, as soon as he'd closed the door. "What did I miss? I can't think of anything!"

He locked the door and then suddenly walked over to her. He reached out to hold her face with both hands and softly placed a kiss on her lips.

"Harry!" She exclaimed, her hand flying to her mouth. "What-?"

"Sorry!" He backed away as quickly as he had approached, his face flaming red. "I just wanted to try. Hermione, you want us to pretend we're dating, but I've never dated before! I don't just randomly kiss girls. In fact, you know my whole kissing history, which now includes two kisses. How are we supposed to be dating when we can't even kiss without blushing?"

Hermione was ashamed to admit, she hadn't really thought about it. "Well, to be honest, Harry, I'm not expecting people to demand kisses from us." She said, shrugging. "Heck, half the school _already_ thinks we're dating. I get asked all the time how long we've been dating or why we didn't go the Yule Ball together or…well, what you're like in bed." She admitted, blushing herself. "No one asks you about that stuff?"

"Sometimes." He admitted sheepishly. "Not when Ron's around though. But still, I mean, they all keep warning us that the Slytherins are going to be watching us."

"I'm not about to begin breaking school rules to satisfy a bunch of voyeurs." Hermione exclaimed, her eyes blazing in a way that only an upset Hermione's eyes could. "But, I will admit, some kissing will probably be necessary. Are you okay with that?" She asked.

Harry grinned. "Hey, I was the one who initiated our kiss." He teased.

She rolled her eyes, stomping forward the three feet between them and planting a quick kiss on his shocked lips. "There. We're even." She teased, stepping back. "You just took me by surprise! A little warning would have been nice. We'll just- short kisses like that are allowed by the rules. So is hand holding. Other than that, we'll just leave the common room from time to time and tell them we want some alone time. I think that should cover us."

"That will work most of the time," Harry conceded, rubbing his forehead wearily. "But I can't help but think about Malfoy and Parkinson. Admittedly, they're the only real couple we know from that House, but they get in trouble all the time for excessive…you know," he waved his hands vaguely. "I'm just worried about walking into something we're not prepared for."

"Harry!" Hermione couldn't help but smile. "It's not like we're going to walk into an orgy. As they're the only Slytherin couple we can actually name and we know they're both huge attention-seekers, I'm going to guess that most of Slytherin is more reserved."

"I guess so." Harry conceded. "I just don't want anything to come between, Hermione. If we're put on the spot…"

"Harry," she reached up to brush his cheek. He was absolutely adorable when he got all worried. "We'll be fine. We're best friends- we know each other better than probably anyone else in the world. If something happens, it happens. Neither of us is dating right now. Play-acting could very well turn into the real thing; we see it all the time in movies. Are you saying you'd have a problem if that happened?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"No!" Harry exclaimed, flushing again. "I- wow, Hermione, you really don't pull any punches do you," he laughed.

"Harry, you know I think things through. And hey, I can think of worse things than ending up dating Harry Potter. Rita Skeeter certainly already thinks I am." Hermione offered with a wink.

Harry laughed again. "Oh, Merlin, she'd have a field day with this. Rerun all those old articles…"

"Oh, yeah, and I'd get all that lovely fan mail again." Hermione wrinkled her nose.

"I don't think it'd be a good idea to open mail after this comes out." Harry said, wincing at the thought. Hermione unable to read- those had _not_ been good times.

"Yeah, probably." Hermione agreed. "But other than that, Harry, I think we'll be fine. Neither of us are dating, should this grow serious. We have a war coming- we know the stakes almost better than anyone else. We know we have to win."

"Yeah." Harry started to speak, but heard Tonks suddenly shout up to them.

"Harry, Hermione, let's go!"

"The others must have arrived." Hermione said, frowning. Now that she was listening, she could hear them. "How did we miss that?" They were not a quiet bunch in the least.

Harry shook his head, shrugging. "We better get going." He said. He grinned, holding out his hand.

She laughed, unable to help herself. "Let's go," she agreed, grabbing his hand.

They quickly ran downstairs, mixing in with the group that made up their protectors. Kingsley Shacklebolt was the only one in the room not currently lost in conversation. Instead, he was leaning against the counter in the kitchen, smirking at the two of them, his eyes pointedly staring at their clasped hands.

"Heya, Harry." He greeted the boy. "Hermione." He nodded at her, making the light beam off of his bald head. "What were you two doing upstairs, all by yourselves?" He asked, wiggling his eyes meaningfully.

Hermione gasped in shock, her free hand flying up to her mouth. Harry couldn't tell if she was embarrassed or not, but he had spent more time around Kingsley than she had. For all his solemn appearance, Kingsley had a wicked streak. When he and Remus got going, they left Harry in stitches.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Harry shot back, dead-pan.

Kingsley laughed, drawing the attention of the room.

"Oh, there you two are." Tonks bounced over, looking curiously at her Auror partner. "We're all just about ready to go, just talking logistics. I got your trunks from your rooms, is there anything else you two need?" She asked, pulling two shrunken trunks out of her pocket.

"Um, we'll need uniforms to change into." Hermione pointed out. "Probably Harry's chess set. I'd like a book or two."

"Change now." Tonks pointed to a pile of clothing sitting on the now-empty table. "We have a uniform for each of you there as well as a cloak. Make sure the cloaks cover you completely- we'll adjust them if necessary."

"Why?" Harry's lingering amazement faded as he look around. The group was made up of six members, Tonks, Kingsley and Hestia being the only three he recognized. They weren't just idly gossiping, however. There was an air of anticipation around all of them.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, seeing the same things. "Who are these people?"

"We trust all of them." Kingsley quickly turned serious before the children could grow too worried. "You'll likely see the others before we get to the station. As the two of you know, Remus quit a few years ago when it was announced that he was a werewolf. With the attacks and impending war, the Headmaster was able to get him rehired, but that doesn't mean _everyone_ is happy about it. There are some protestors on the platform. So, we're getting the two of you on the train as quickly as we can and the youngest Weasleys are going with a group too. We're hoping with smaller groups, we'll be less noticeable."

Tonks laughed, elbowing Kingsley jokingly. "And after Moody's last tenure as a Professor, there are more than a few who think ol' Mad Eye's a bit too dangerous to be around children anymore." She rolled her eyes at the very thought. The same rumours had been around even when she first joined the Aurors- they'd been very hesitant about making Mad-Eye Moody the mentor of another green Auror, but she'd insisted. And she'd never had a moment's regret.

"Well, that's stupid." Hermione frowned, as she always did when the quality of her education was endangered. "Remus was the best Defense Professor we ever had. I'm sure he'll be just as good with History."

"He can't be worse than Binns." Harry laughed. "But yeah, Remus will be awesome!" He couldn't be more excited to get his father's friend back. "And having the real Moody will be great too- I hope."

"Oh, you'll love Moody. Really." Tonks assured him as he frowned, contemplating the few interactions he'd had with the paranoid man. "He was my favorite instructor all through Auror training."

"Yeah," Kingsley had to laugh at his partner's words. "And the only who actually liked you."

Tonks rolled her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said airily. "Everybody loves me."

"You just keep telling yourself that, honey." He said condescendingly, patting her on the top of her head. She pulled away, sticking her tongue out at him.

* * *

When the group finally got mobilized, the trip to Platform 9 ¾ was surprisingly short. All too soon they arrived outside of the platform.

"Hoods up." Kingsley gave the order, pulling Hermione's hood up himself. "You two keep your heads down and don't stop moving. We will not be following you, but we will always have you in sight."

Harry pulled his own hood up, focusing more on the Muggles around them, surprised as always at the way the Muggles simply avoided this part of the train station. A group of eight people with long black robes escaped notice completely. He knew Hermione was paying attention and she'd give him any pertinent orders in due time.

Hermione paid rapt attention to Kingsley, ignoring Harry's wanderings. "That won't be strange?" She had to ask. "I mean, I know wizards often wear odd clothes, but they don't usually come cloaked to the Platform! Won't we stand out even more?"

"Not today." Tonks assured the girl. "There are all kinds of reporters in there. Most of the parents today are going to make sure their kids are covered up, unless of course they want to be noticed. No one will give you two the slightest bit of notice. Just keep close to each other and don't look up until you're on the train. Now, go!"

She pushed the two through the wall separating the Wizarding platform from the Muggle world. Hermione immediately grabbed Harry's hand as they stumbled through the wall, as they were instantly surrounded. A cacophony of shouts and colors met them, as witches and wizards jostled for position on the platform.

"C'mon." Harry was every bit as shocked by the noise as Hermione, but he knew they had to get going. He gripped her hand tightly and pulled her towards the train. Though he expected to be grabbed, no one made a move to stop them. People yelled at them, some brandished homemade signs at them, but no one got in the one clear path on the platform, which led straight to their train.

Sure enough, as Tonks had said earlier, they weren't the only cloaked student-sized shapes hurrying through the crowd. Neither one of them saw any of their classmates amongst all the screaming.

Once they got going, they didn't stop until they were on the train. The entrance of the train inside was jam-packed with students, pulling themselves free of cloaks and trying to maneuver their trunks around others.

"Come on," Harry didn't stop at the entrance, but pulled Hermione through to go find a cabin to sit in.

"Yeah." Hermione agreed, feeling far too claustrophobic to put up a fight. They walked further down the train, not slowing until there was enough room to stop and not get run over. "Okay," she said, pushing down her hood. "I think we need to find an empty cabin." She said to Harry. "If the others find us, great, but until then…"

Harry smirked. "They'll think we wanted some alone time." He laughed, pushing his hood down as well. "Well, let's go then."

For perhaps the first time since he started travelling to Platform 9 ¾, Harry was early. He was surprised to see how many cabins had yet to be claimed. As Hermione had regularly been early, she had a better working knowledge of just how the train filled and quickly found them a quiet spot.

Hermione quickly took her usual spot, against the window, curling up on the seat, while Harry closed the door, pulling the curtain down. He took the moment to pull his cloak off, dropping it onto the seat.

"Come, sit, Harry." She teased, patting the spot beside her.

Harry quirked an eyebrow, amused. Since they'd brought the issue of dating up, something had changed in their long-time friendship. Whatever came out of it, it looked like they were both going to have fun in the meantime. "Alright," he said. He'd had several long years to learn just how much he could get away with when it came to teasing Hermione and he was willing to go as far as she wanted.

He took the middle seat right next to her, leaning against her and resting his chin on her shoulder. They often curled up like that on a couch in Gryffindor, when Ron was off destroying someone in chess.

Sure enough, she laughed, pulling a small stack of books out of the inner pocket of her cloak. "So, how shall we spend our time?" She asked, fanning the books out. "_Hogwarts, A History_? _The Voyage of the Dawn Treader_? Or _The Little Prince_?"

"Dawn Treader." Harry said at once. Thanks to lazy nights with her, he'd actually read _Hogwarts, A History_, at least twice completely, but had no interest in reading it again. He _liked_ the Dawn Treader, the whole Narnia series.

"But, Harry!" Hermione pouted. "We're going _back_ to Hogwarts! Surely we need to make sure-"

"Uh-uh." Harry grabbed the books, pulling out the one he wanted. He handed it to Hermione, tossing the other two on top of his cloak. "Good book first."

"Like I said," Hermione huffed, before laughing when he gestured to her impatiently. "Fine, fine." She conceded easily.

The two fell quickly into the story, both caught up in a magical world they had known before they found out about the real Wizarding world.

They chatted quietly about the plot, without really paying attention to the train around them. Both briefly looked up as the train finally took off, but when no one immediately came to their door, they both drifted back to their book.

Neither looked up again until an all too familiar, very annoying voice spoke up, "Well, well, Blaise, look what we have here."

Harry, always less involved in a book than Hermione, looked up to see Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini standing in the doorway. "Oh."

"Blaise, there's nobody named Blaise in this book." Hermione was slightly slower, looking over to Harry in confusion. "Oh, Zabini." She froze as the Slytherins came into sight. "Yeah, okay, I guess that is his first name." She offered, shrugging.

Harry laughed when she turned back to the book. "Hey, Malfoy. Zabini." He offered them a wave before turning back to the book himself.

"Oh, c'mon, Potter." Malfoy's eyes grew wide in surprise as Harry sank down against Hermione's shoulder. "That's it? No defense- you're hanging all over her!"

"And?" Harry looked up so Malfoy could see him roll his eyes. "And we've never seen you hanging all over a girl, have we? At least we do it in private."

"Or, it would be private," Hermione offered, not looking up. "If you'd shut the door!" She shot a glare at them.

Her glare had been effective against Malfoy since she'd hit him in Third Year and was surprising enough to Zabini that they followed her order almost before they thought about it.

"Did you two hook up?" Malfoy smirked, trying to regain control of the conversation when he realized he'd followed her orders. "Because I've made so much money if you did. That would be awesome."

"Damn it, Granger." Blaise threw his head back in dismay. "I knew I should have gone with Potter."

"Why you ever went with Longbottom, I couldn't say." Malfoy turned to his fellow Slytherin curiously.

"Hey, he was the Dark Horse. She spends almost as much time with him as with Potter and Weasley combined." Zabini protested.

"Wait, even the Slytherins were baiting on me?" Hermione asked, surprised. "I mean, I knew the Ravenclaws had something running and Fred and George have been running their bets since our First Year, but really? You guys couldn't think of anything better to do?"

"What about Krum?" Harry asked curiously to cover his surprise. He'd known about Fred and George, but the Ravenclaws? "She dated him all Fourth Year."

"Ah, we all knew that would never go anywhere." Zabini waved his hand lazily, slumping down onto the seat opposite of the two Gryffindors. "But we were all starting to worry that you'd go for Weasley. Nott would've made a killing."

"Yeah, the bastard." Malfoy shook his head, sitting next to Zabini. "He wouldn't have shut about it for the next ten years. You two have really saved me a lot of trouble. I'm so happy- I'll even congratulate the two of you. I wondered when you'd get sick of Weasley and ditch him."

"Thanks." Harry smiled at Malfoy. "Um, I guess. We didn't see Ron all summer, he went abroad. What did you two do this summer?" He asked curiously. "What do wizards do in the summer?"

Zabini laughed. "What do Muggles do in the summer?" He asked curiously. "I hung out on our estate in Italy, avoiding my Mother and her newest husband. Flirted with some pretty witches, swum in our pool." He shrugged. "Did some studying when I got desperate."

"Well, that's not impressive at all." Harry said to Hermione, though he didn't bother to lower his voice. "I expected something better."

"Can't be all magic, Harry." She answered him in the same manner. "It's not like he's Edmund. He's restricted with magic the same way we are."

"Yeah, but still." Harry protested.

"Who the bloody hell is Edmund?" Zabini demanded.

"What are you still doing here?" Hermione shot back, ignoring his question. "It's not like the two of you want to spend time with us. It's usually a quick and nasty shot and then you leave. We don't usually have conversations."

Malfoy held a hand to his heart. "Now, I'm hurt, Granger." He said, trying and failing to pout. "We usually can't have conversations because Weasley's about ready to blow as soon as he sees me. I thought we could have a nice conversation without him."

"Oh, yeah." Hermione laughed. "I love having conversations with people who call me Mudblood. Nothing you wanna say about my parents, Malfoy? I have quite a bit I'd like to say about _your_ father."

For the first time, Malfoy looked genuinely confused. "Granger, my Mother collected me from our relatives in France yesterday. I've been gone all summer. What'd my father do?"

"Made his last mistake." Hermione scowled.

"Hermione," Harry scolded her, alarmed to notice she wasn't acting any more. "Come on, we don't wanna talk about stuff like that. Let's have a nice conversation." He said, squeezing her arm warningly.

"Fine," Hermione rolled her eyes, quickly catching his message. "It wasn't that important, I guess. Muggle summers aren't much different. Harry and I hung out a lot this summer, got closer. Did you two see each other this summer?"

"Me and Blaise." Malfoy looked doubtfully at the other boy. "Not likely. Zabini doesn't like Britain. He leaves as soon as possible."

"I will be so glad when I graduate- I'm not coming back to this Merlin-forsaken island." Zabini agreed cheerfully. "But no, Malfoy and I aren't really…best friends like you two."

Malfoy laughed. "Especially not like you two." He winced at the implication. "No, Zabini and I are more like…acquaintances. Safety in numbers and all that, you know."

Hermione couldn't help but smile. "You know what, that's how we started too. Be careful about stuff like that. One 3-headed dog later and the Golden Trio was born. Safety in numbers."

"Hey, that's true!" Harry couldn't help but be intrigued. "We really had a weird First Year." He said, hugging Hermione tighter. "Luckily we survived."

"Ew." Two voices exclaimed in unison. It was hard to tell which Slytherin was more repulsed.

"Maybe you'll end up like us, yet." Hermione laughed.

Zabini opened his mouth, but the door slid open before he could speak.

There was a moment of silence as they all stared in shock at Ron Weasley, tall as ever and tanned from his summer outdoors. "What the bloody hell is going on in here?" He shouted angrily.

* * *

Here we go, guys, the loooooong awaited next chapter. Sorry about that. I promise, they'll be more regular now. Please let me know what you guys thought. We'll get to Snape as well as the potion for Sirius next chapter. Tell me what you think is going to happen next- I'll confess, I could use a few ideas. Thanks, Minara.


	19. In Which the 'Truth' Is Revealed

Chapter 19— In Which the 'Truth' Comes Out

For a moment, no one knew what to say. Harry made the first move, eventually, pulling himself up to his feet. "Ron!" He forced a smile onto his face. "Hey, mate! How was Romania?"

"Romania?" Ron looked confused for a moment at the innocent question. "What's going on _here_? Why's Malfoy here?"

"Oh, they just stopped to chat." Hermione said, grinning up at her friend. "Hi, Ron! How were the dragons? Did you get injured?"

"Who cares about the bloody dragons!" He exclaimed. "What's going on here? Why are you talking with Malfoy? He's a _Slytherin_!"

"Ron," Hermione rolled her eyes. "You know how little I care about distinctions like that. He was being polite, which is a lot more than I can say for you. Sit down. Tell us how Charlie is."

She gestured to the seat. Harry took the hint, returning to his seat and throwing his arm around Hermione.

"Harry." Sure enough, Ron's eyes had easily followed the movement of Harry's hand and he didn't look happy about it.

"Well, do you want to know about our summer?" Harry went on as if Ron had asked a genial question. "Hermione and I spent a lot of it together. So much so that we decided we'd like to see how we'd do if we dated. We wanted you to be the first to know."

If they had thought the cabin got quiet before, it was a rock concert compared to the silence now.

Harry turned hesitantly to Hermione, who simply smiled and patted his head. Though she looked worried, her eyes were as calm as ever. She flicked them over to the Slytherins and, following her, Harry saw that they were both leaning forward in anticipation.

"You're dating?" Ron asked in a surprisingly calm voice.

"Yeah." Hermione spoke up, not liking the look in Ron's eyes as he fixated on Harry. "We realized we have an awful lot in common and wanted to see how it'd work out."

They waited another beat.

Then the explosion they expected came. "You bloody bastard!" Ron shouted angrily. "You knew I liked her. You knew! I go away for a summer and you do this?"

Harry cringed. He'd known the words were coming, could practically speak them word for word, but to hear them was always a jolt.

Hermione had long known a confrontation like this was inevitable, even before this whole reSorting scheme came up and had decided long ago what she was going to do about it. She rose to her feet, motioning Harry to stay where he was and made her way to Ron.

"No, Hermione," he exclaimed, holding up a hand as if to ward her off. "This isn't about you, this is about-"

"This isn't about me?" Hermione interrupted him, allowing her anger to show through. "You're angry that Harry's dating me instead of you, but it's not about me? No, it's not about me is it? You're making an idiot out of yourself."

She reached around him, pulling the door closed again. "Good, now just Malfoy and Zabini can hear what an idiot you are. So, explain to me," she demanded, stepping back and crossing her arms. "Exactly what this is about if not me?"

"He- he knows how I feel." Ron was losing steam, as he always did when Hermione started arguing logic against him.

"Well, I don't." Hermione said, shrugging. "Apparently you two go up to your dorm and have all these insightful conversations without me. And you wonder why I wander in there occasionally. If you're talking about me, don't you think _I_ should know about it? How do you feel about me, Ron? Get your thumb outta your arse and tell me! Man up for once in your life."

"She breaks into the boys' dorm?" Even amongst the fight, she heard Zabini whisper to Malfoy and had to fight not to smile. "That is so hot!"

A flicker in Ron's eyes made Hermione realized he'd heard the boy too. He seemed to remember there were Slytherins in the cabin, turning back to them.

"Shut up, Zabini. You have no idea what it's like." He said hotly.

Luckily, Zabini seemed to possess enough smarts not to enrage the redhead further. "Nope, I don't." He agreed, leaning back with his hands tucked behind his head, deliberately at ease. "I can only dream. Our girls wouldn't step foot in our dorm."

Surprisingly, Malfoy laughed. "Yuck, I barely want to. Pansy would have a panic attack. But yeah, that does make for a good dream, doesn't it?" He grinned at the other Slytherin before abruptly turning to Ron. "Are you saying you don't like it when she visits, Weasley? Doesn't sound like true love to me."

"Shut up, Malfoy." Ron spat back almost automatically, but surprisingly enough he seemed to be considering the question. "It's just, you know, weird when she does it. We have enough problems with Seamus and his mess and it's just- girls aren't supposed to go up there." He finished, flicking his finger in Hermione's direction.

"Oh, please." Hermione rolled her eyes. "I've seen everything your kind has to offer." She froze as strangled laughs flew out all around and blushed as she realized what she said. "Ron," she decided to ignore them, blustering on before Ron's anger outgrew his embarrassment. "You're a great friend- one of the best I've ever had. And I don't even want to know about your secret boy-talks, but I don't like you like that. I never have- we fight too much to ever be attracted to one another. People who like one another are supposed to have the same interests. We don't have _any_ of the same interests!"

"Neither do you and Harry!" He protested. "Harry loves Quidditch! You hate Quidditch. Harry hates to study- and you love it!"

"Ron," she rolled her eyes. Of course he would go for the Quidditch argument first. "You love Quidditch even more than Harry- that's a horrible argument!"

"And not true." Harry had to speak up, not willing to let Hermione fight this battle all by herself. "You saw it last year- going without Quidditch doesn't really bother me. Yeah, I didn't like that Umbitch was _dictating_ that I couldn't play, but…" He shrugged. "I just like to fly. And I'm good at catching the Snitch. But Hermione and I do have a lot in common. We're both from the Muggle world, we both like to read and we both like to explore new things. We just want a chance, Ron. You never made a move on her and…" He didn't want to get into specifics of the summer, especially with two Slytherins so close. He flicked his eyes at them, hoping Ron would catch his hidden meaning, finishing, "And this summer, we spent a lot more time together. It just happened. I hope you can accept that."

Ron's fists tightened again. "You know, the two of you should really get to know Charlie some time." He said after a moment, overly calm. "He's probably the nicest of all my brothers, the calmest. He likes to read." He flashed a small smile at Hermione. "When he's not wrestling with baby dragons," he added, shuddering. "I've learned a lot from him this summer. Fine," he shrugged. "I don't care what you do. But, I'm gonna go hang out with Dean and Seamus. I'll, uh, I'll see you guys later."

He offered a wave and backed out of the cabin.

Harry and Hermione both let out sighs. "That, uh, went a lot better than I thought it would." Harry turned to her sheepishly.

"I thought he was gonna punch you." Hermione laughed, patting his arm as she went back to her seat. "So, that's a definite plus."

Harry laughed, retaking his seat too. "Yeah, that was one of my thoughts too. Damn, he bulked up. Dragons, huh?" He said thoughtfully.

Now Hermione laughed, knowing exactly where his thoughts had gone. "Don't even think about it. I like the way you look. Norbert was bad enough."

Harry laughed, even as he winced at the memory. "Yeah…"

"Damn it, I wish you would make sense!" Malfoy finally interrupted them, his patience used up. "What's the use of us eavesdropping if we don't know what you're talking about? Who the hell's Norbert?"

Hermione turned to him, eyes sparkling mischievously. "You saw him. Peeking through Hagrid's window, upset we wouldn't let you play with your namesake." She teased.

"Namesake?" Harry was confused.

"Draco. Draconus. Dragon." Hermione drew out the meaning of Malfoy's first name.

"That baby dragon of Hagrid's?" Malfoy was confused. "You named it Norbert?" He sounded repulsed.

"Actually, Charlie said it's more like 'Norberta'." Harry remembered a previous conversation with the Dragon master.

"That was _real_?" Even Zabini sounded slightly impressed. "I thought that was something Draco made up."

"Thanks, Blaise." Malfoy indignantly smacked his so-called friend.

"Anytime." Blaise took the hit nonchalantly. "So, Granger, you can come visit our dorm anytime. We won't complain." He wiggled his eyebrows at her laviciously.

"She's good, thanks." Harry scowled, throwing an arm around Hermione. He could feel her shaking with suppressed laughter and grinned himself. "But thanks."

"That was a little depressing though." Malfoy wasn't interested in his friend's teasing, but stared at the door. "Weasley barely exploded at all. What fun was that? He should still be in here ranting until his head explodes. What happened?" He demanded, glaring at the two Gryffindors as if it were their fault.

"He's actually matured quite a bit." Hermione said as if agreeing with the blonde.

"Yeah, we managed to stop the initial explode." Harry wasn't quite so naïve. "Of course, now he's telling the story to Dean and Seamus, who are going to tease about losing you. He'll be all fired up by suppertime, unless he decides to just stop talking to us again."

Hermione nodded sadly. "Yeah, I can't decide which would be worse." She admitted.

"You two aren't going to change your minds, though, right?" Malfoy interrupted the two as they snuggled together. "You won't break up because he's being a git about this, right?" He almost sounded concerned.

"Malfoy, we didn't do this spur of the moment." Harry grinned, knowing just where Malfoy's 'concern' was coming from. "We decided we're going to stay together until _we_ decide otherwise. Ron's gonna mad for awhile and that's fine. But nothing him or anyone else does is going to break us up. He'll learn to accept or…" He shrugged, saddened by the realization that he might just lose his friend over this. Calm response or not, Ron wasn't often known for his maturity.

"Or, we'll go on being a Golden Duo instead of a Trio." Hermione reached up to squeeze the hand he had wrapped around her as she finished up his sentence. She knew it was hurting him, but they couldn't lose face in front of two Slytherins. Not when this was setting the stage so perfectly.

"Do you think he's going to accept it?" Zabini looked curious at the notion. "Weasley has a huge jealous streak."

"I just don't understand wizards." Hermione rolled her eyes. "You boys don't make any sense. He seems to think I should live in a nunnery until he buys me a ring."

Harry kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry about it. We knew he'd be upset and we decided to do this anyways. We're in our Sixth Year- he has to start growing up sometime. Might as well be now."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "You're right. No need to worry about it now."

"Well, I'm going to get my money, before Nott tries to get out of this." Malfoy climbed to his feet.

"Malfoy, no offense, but we were trying to keep this quiet." Harry said, not that he believed it would do any good.

Sure enough, Malfoy simply laughed. It wasn't the malevolent laugh they were used to, but still rather grating. "Yeah, good luck with that, Potter." The blonde said, rolling his eyes. "As if half the school won't be watching anyways. See you later. You coming, Zabini?"

"Nah." To their surprise, Zabini turned sideways in the seat, pulling his legs up to occupy the space Malfoy had just left. "It doesn't look like they're going to start making out anytime soon, so I can read here just as well as anywhere else."

"Whatever." Malfoy shrugged. "Bye."

* * *

Several hours away from the drama unfolding on the Hogwarts Express, the professors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were also bracing themselves for the upcoming school year. They weren't having quite as much fun as the students, as they were locked in the final Staff meeting before the summer officially ended.

As with all the changes that had occurred this summer, they had been having these meetings every Monday and Thursday without fail, so they had said just about everything that had needed to be said.

This meeting wasn't as bad as some of the others, as the Headmaster had given his traditional speech and left the professors to talk amongst themselves. They had always used this meeting as their last bit of fun before the school year began and this year was no different, as the alcohol was pulled out the instant the Headmaster had closed the door.

What was different was that both Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape both stayed. Usually, Minerva spent the last few hours of summer frantically trying to finish off paperwork that the Headmaster had mysteriously 'forgotten' to get to over the summer, while Severus merely avoided every one he could in order to indulge in his last few hours of freedom.

This year, Minerva stayed to make sure the remaining staff understood all of the changes that were going to occur and then- and only then!- to indulge in some of the griping that usually accompanied this meeting. Gripes ranged from the Headmaster to returning trouble students. Minerva often spent some time at this after-meeting, as her house often had some of the most troublesome students.

And, as all the professors knew that the Heads had stepped up against the Headmaster, she had no problem telling them of a few of Dumbledore's more irritating habits.

Severus had stayed, not by choice, but because Minerva insisted. Theoretically, he was there in case there were any questions that hadn't already been asked, but as Minerva was also there, no one dared approach him.

He stayed in his usual seat, tucked into a corner where he had both a clear view of the door and the Headmaster's seat, with his back protected, indulging in a glass of wine while he waited for permission to leave.

Well, mostly there was no one bold enough to approach him. As often happened at these staff 'meetings', the severe age difference amongst the staff quickly turned into cliques of people who ignored all the others. When questions finally ran out, Minerva, Filius, and Moody retreated to a corner of their own to start reminiscing. Pomona and Hooch, the very best of friends from their Hogwarts days Severus had been helpfully informed, quickly turned to discussion, ignoring everyone around them. Septima Vector turned towards Aurora Sinistra, both of whom had graduated when Severus was in his fifth year. They were both Ravenclaws, though he wouldn't ever call them best friends. Both were extremely intelligent, but both were rather snobbish, mostly preferring not to talk to anyone who didn't graduate from their own House. Firenze, who had agreed to stay on as the Divination professor, turned his attention to Hagrid, who had returned from whatever mysterious mission the headmaster had attempted to send him on looking more than a bit beat up. Bathsheda Babbling, the Ancient Runes professor, and Charity Burbage, Muggle Studies, were the last of the bunch, both Hufflepuffs and smart enough to leave Severus alone. He honestly couldn't remember ever having a conversation with either of them.

Lupin, however, never knew when to quit. Severus had noticed several times since his arrival at Hogwarts that the werewolf was watching him, so he wasn't surprised when Lupin broke off from Septima and Aurora and made his way to Snape's corner.

"Damn." Severus muttered under his breath. They were trapped in this room until it was time for the feast, so he could no longer hide from Lupin. Obviously the man wanted answers and was determined to get them.

"Ah, Severus," Remus smiled at him as he stopped in front of the darkly dressed man. Ignoring the glower he received for his greeting, he Summoned a chair over so that he could sit directly in front of Severus, determined to get his answers. "It's so nice to get a chance to speak to you again."

"Surely you aren't that desperate." Severus drawled out lazily, smirking. "There are all kinds of idiots in here for you to speak with."

"Severus." Remus scolded him lightly. "These are your colleagues."

"Don't remind me." Severus was disgusted by the very thought. "Just get on with it, Lupin. What have you figured out?"

He knew that Lupin, an incurably curious person, would have gone looking for answers. He also knew that it was doubtful Lupin would find any. Most of Black's girlfriends hadn't lasted beyond one date, one night, and only rarely did he bother with names.

"Sirius does _not _have any illegitimate children." Remus said determinedly. "He would have known. I've contacted everyone I can think of- even the Muggles!- and I didn't find anyone."

"You're right, Lupin," Severus easily conceded. "I just wanted to mess with you a bit, see what you would do. Congratulations on being predictable- you acted _exactly _the way I thought you would."

Lupin growled. "Damn it, Snape!" His hands gripped the arms of his chair and Severus cast a meaningful glance around the room, reminding him of where they were. "You don't play kinds of tricks." Remus deliberately calmed his voice, though his eyes never left Snape's. "You wouldn't have spoken about it without a damned good reason. You found someone. Tell me who it is!"

"Why?" Severus asked simply. "What are you going to about it? You can't do anything- you have no rights in this situation. I know lots of things about lots of people. Trust me, this isn't the most shocking secret I've ever come across."

"It is to me!" Remus wasn't above pleading. "Please, Snape! Even if they don't know the truth, I'd like them to know about who Sirius really was."

"So," Severus smirked, drawing out the word. "You want to ruin some child's life so that you can relive the glory days of the Marauders? Oh, yeah, that's convincing. Go away, Lupin."

Not that he expected it to work, Lupin thought sourly. Pleading meant nothing to Snape, it was only another reason for him to mock you. "What do I have to do to get this information from you?" He demanded.

As he'd expected, his offer was met with a sinister smile. "Now, we're getting closer." Severus said approvingly. He'd long ago thought of just what use Lupin could be to him and had eagerly awaited the day when Lupin came demanding answers. "I need you to get the wand that Black was using the night he disappeared. I know the Headmaster took charge of it. I need it."

"For what?" Lupin asked, confused. "Snape, what are you up to? Why don't you just tell me? Tell someone- no one knows what you're doing. I asked. They all know you're plotting something, though, which is probably why they're all so suspicious."

"Hm." Severus had noticed an increase of eyes following him around lately. He had merely assumed it was because of Moody's presence. Then again, he hadn't exactly been discrete about what he was up to. It wasn't necessary, most of the time he was simply ignored, so he just went about his business. Oh well. It wasn't like they'd figure it out anytime soon.

"I can't tell you right now." Severus said. "It's definitely something that needs to be done in privacy. But that wand is the last piece I need."

"I want the name." Lupin knew when he was actually in the position to make demands and was more than willing to do so. "If I'm going to steal from the Headmaster- I do assume you don't want him to know."

"If you tell him, you'll regret it more than I would." Severus said honestly. Though he did admire the attempt. "But fine." He didn't really care one way or the other if Lupin knew the truth. "As long as you keep in mind where we are. If you make a scene, I'll drop you where you stand."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. You think I want to talk about Sirius's indiscretions with a room full of his old professors?"

Severus had to laugh at that. "It certainly wouldn't surprise them. But in this case, Black didn't know about the girl getting pregnant." Over the course of the summer, Severus had been sure to get the truth out of Hermione, half afraid that she had made up the story in an attempt to get him to let her go. It had turned out to be true though. "She was a Muggle, out for her hen party the day before she got married. He was supposed to be one last fling. Emma Brown."

"Emma Brown? Is the girl?" Remus didn't recognize the name.

"Was the girl. When she got pregnant, she assumed it was to her husband. She had a daughter to a man who loved Greek mythology. When the child developed magic, she realized her dentist husband might not actually be the father of the child, but couldn't find Black by then. The dentist wanted to give his child to have a Greek name, so he named her Hermione."

Lupin's eyes had been growing wider and wider as the story went on and he gasped as the name was revealed. "No!"

"The mother got some blood tests done." Severus continued his story when he realized Lupin wasn't going to make a scene. "It doesn't match the father's blood type. And despite her transgression the night before her wedding, she claims that Black was the only other man she'd been with. I took some of Granger's blood, tested it. It's true."

"She never told him." Remus knew that much. "Sirius could never keep secrets from me. If she had told him, he would have told me. Hell, he would have told everyone. Would have shouted it from the rooftops. He wouldn't care that she was illegitimate. That would have been half the appeal."

"Yeah." Severus couldn't deny that. "She said it never seemed appropriate, him being on the run and all." One of the things she had said came back to him and he grinned. "Actually, she was also worried about him being from an Ancient and Noble family. Thought he might have a problem with her claim as illegitimate children often aren't acknowledged by their families."

"Sirius?" Remus snorted. "Wow, they really didn't get to know him, did they? Siri would have wanted to acknowledge her for no other reason than she _was_ illegitimate. His whole family would have hated that."

Severus shrugged. "She never did get to know much about him. They were always focused on other things. And then he was dead."

"But you can bring him back." Remus was, after all, not a stupid man. "His ghost? Is that what you're aiming for? You can't bring people back from the dead, Severus."

Severus laughed, not even bothering to hide his amusement. "Oh, if you only knew the things that I can do."

* * *

Hey guys, here's the next update. You asked and you received. Sorry, I wasn't online in time to reply to your reviews, but I promise that won't happen next time. I have used some of your comments and I appreciate you leaving them. With Ron, I decided, per request, that this wouldn't be a typical Ron-bash where he rants and rants. Ron is upset, he is going to cause some troubles later on, but he's not going to be an idiot. His summer with Charlie matured him to an extent. As you may have noticed, I have been trying to avoid any clichés in this fic, such as Hermione turning girly-girl or suddenly becoming a Slytherin when it's found out she's really a pureblood. I'd love to know what you guys think of my attempt. Any other comments would also be appreciated. Let me know your thoughts on the chapter and any other suggestions for later chapters. I will try to incorporate them. The reSort may take a few chapters, but I promise we'll get there! As for those of you who also read Define Family, it will be updated in the next few days, when I finish edits. Thanks, Minara.


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